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Legal analysis and practical guidance on cross-border business, disputes, corporate, employment and IP matters across India and the UAE — including the Legal Help Desk, our Q&A column on the problems clients actually meet.

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 […]

ATB Legal · 1 Nov 2026 · 16 minRead →
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 […]

ATB Legal · 1 Nov 2026 · 22 minRead →
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 […]

ATB Legal · 1 Nov 2026 · 15 minRead →
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 […]

ATB Legal · 1 Nov 2026 · 15 minRead →
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 […]

ATB Legal · 1 Nov 2026 · 8 minRead →
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 […]

ATB Legal · 1 Nov 2026 · 14 minRead →
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 […]

ATB Legal · 1 Nov 2026 · 9 minRead →
Case Study

Federal Properties v Ibrahim & Ors [2025] ADGMCFI 0013: indefeasible title, Al Reem Island and the section 24(f) exception

Catchwords: Real property – Torrens title by registration – indefeasibility (ADGM Real Property Regulations 2024, ss 22–23) – equitable-obligation exception (s 24(f)) – constructive trust – attributed corporate knowledge – off-plan sale and purchase agreements – Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi – rectification of the register. Case at a glance   Citation [2025] ADGMCFI 0013 […]

Asha Treesa Bejoy · 31 Oct 2026 · 12 minRead →
Case Study

Commercial Bank of Dubai v Alyazji [2025] ADGMCFI 0008: enforcing legacy Al Reem Island mortgages under the ADGM Real Property Regulations 2024 – implied foreclosure rights, section 72(3) and the primacy of the equity of redemption

Catchwords: Real property – mortgages – enforcement on default – transitional law – enforcement of legacy Al Reem Island mortgages migrated from the DMT to the ADGM Register – foreclosure (ADGM Real Property Regulations 2024, s 78) – sale in lieu of foreclosure (s 72(1)(a)) – equity of redemption (s 68(2)) – mortgagee’s powers and […]

Asha Treesa Bejoy · 31 Oct 2026 · 26 minRead →