Insights
Articles by ATB Legal
India Treaties and Taxes
MLI Principal Purpose Test in India: Is It Switched Off?
Two benches of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal have held that India cannot use the principal purpose test (PPT) in the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) to deny relief under a tax treaty until the Government notifies the MLI’s changes to that particular treaty. As of 29 October 2026 we found no such notification and no reported […]
India Treaties and Taxes
Mauritius Holding Company for India: Keep, Fix, Move, Collapse
The Protocol amending the India–Mauritius DTAA entered into force on 10 August 2026. It adds a principal purpose test (new Article 27B): a Mauritius fund holding Indian investments can now be denied treaty benefits on an item of income if obtaining the benefit was one of the principal purposes of an arrangement. The Protocol contains […]
India Treaties and Taxes
RAKIA v India: Minority Investors and the India–UAE BIT
On 22 October 2026 the Court of Appeal in London dismissed India’s appeal in RAKIA v India, so a claim based on a 12% stake in an Indian project company goes to arbitration on the merits under the 2013 India–UAE bilateral investment treaty (BIT). Which treaty applies to a dispute depends on when the events […]
India Treaties and Taxes
India–Mauritius BIT: Treaty Protection Ends March 2027
The India–Mauritius BIT was terminated with effect from 22 March 2017, and its sunset clause protects investments approved or made before that date until about 22 March 2027, unless a contract or approval granted to the investor provides a longer period. A group that holds Indian assets through Mauritius and has a dispute over a […]
India Treaties and Taxes
International Worker PF Judgment: Delhi and Karnataka Split
No international worker PF judgment yet binds the whole country. The Karnataka High Court struck down paragraph 83 of the EPF Scheme 1952 on 25 April 2024; the Delhi High Court upheld it on 4 November 2025, and the Supreme Court reportedly issued notice in a further challenge in March 2026. Counsel handling past demands […]
India Treaties and Taxes
Sovereign Wealth Fund Exemption in India: The 2030 Cut-off
The sovereign wealth fund exemption in India keeps dividend, interest and long-term capital gains out of total income where a notified sovereign wealth fund, a notified pension fund, a UAE-resident wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) or Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) invests in Indian infrastructure on or before 31 […]
India Treaties and Taxes
Hyatt Permanent Establishment: Supreme Court Case Note
In Hyatt International Southwest Asia Ltd v ADIT, the Supreme Court held that a Dubai company had a fixed-place permanent establishment (PE) in India under Article 5(1) of the India–UAE tax treaty, although it had no exclusive or designated space in the Indian hotels it oversaw. The Court rested the finding on “pervasive and enforceable […]
GIFT City
Reverse Flipping to India: Merger Route, Tax and GIFT City
Reverse flipping means moving a startup’s holding company from abroad (often Delaware or Singapore) back to India, so that the Indian company becomes the top company. The main statutory route is an inbound cross-border merger of the foreign holdco into its Indian subsidiary. Since 17 September 2024, where the Indian company is wholly owned, that […]
GIFT City
IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in GIFT City: Licence and Rules
An IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) is a branch of an Indian or foreign bank, licensed by IFSCA to carry on banking in GIFT IFSC, mainly in 15 specified foreign currencies. The parent bank must provide at least USD 20 million of capital, held at parent level, and obtain a no-objection letter from its home regulator. […]
GIFT City
Corporate Treasury Centre in GIFT City: The GRCTC Framework
A corporate treasury centre in GIFT City is a finance company, or a branch called a Finance Unit, registered with IFSCA to carry on the activity of a “Global/Regional Corporate Treasury Centre” (GRCTC). The rules are in IFSCA’s GRCTC Framework of 4 April 2025: a company or branch, a minimum owned fund of USD 0.2 […]
GIFT City
GIFT City Company Setup: Entity Types and IFSCA Licences
GIFT City has two parts: a multi-service special economic zone (SEZ), in which GIFT IFSC sits, and a domestic tariff area (DTA) for businesses serving the Indian market (GIFT City Funds Booklet; Invest India). IFSCA licensing applies to units in the IFSC, not to businesses in the DTA. A GIFT City company in the IFSC […]
GIFT City
Variable Capital Company: GIFT City vs Singapore, DIFC, ADGM
A variable capital company (VCC) is a corporate fund vehicle whose share capital rises and falls as investors subscribe and redeem, usually with ring-fenced sub-funds or cells. GIFT City does not have one yet: the VCC exists only in a consultation draft of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026. Singapore has had […]