Capital gains tax guidance shapes M&A structuring, while GST, stamp duty and treaty rules drive cross border deal design.
Mergers and acquisitions in India require careful tax structuring, with capital gains tax treatment as a primary consideration and statutory exemptions for reorganisations; preservation of tax attributes through rules on carrying forward losses and unabsorbed depreciation depends on satisfying conditions such as asset retention and prior industrial activity. Indirect tax, stamp duty and cross border rules - including GST treatment of asset versus going concern transfers, transfer pricing, DTAA relief and the Equalization Levy - materially affect deal design and tax economics. (AI Summary)

Carbon pricing drives transition to cleaner energy through taxes, incentives, and smart, consumption-based tax mechanisms globally.
Energy taxation operates as a fiscal and regulatory mechanism to reduce carbon emissions and promote renewables by altering relative prices across energy sources and uses. Carbon pricing-through taxes or emissions trading-raises the cost of carbon-intensive activities, while sector-specific taxes, tax credits, and subsidies target transportation, aviation and energy-intensive industries to accelerate decarbonisation. Smart metering and digital monitoring enable dynamic, consumption-reflective tax designs, and revenue recycling is used to mitigate distributional impacts on low-income households. (AI Summary)

Taxing the digital economy: SEP and OECD reforms reshape cross-border profit allocation and compliance obligations.
India addresses the mismatch between physical-presence tax rules and borderless digital commerce by adopting the Significant Economic Presence concept to tax revenue from Indian users and by modernising procedures via faceless assessments; these domestic measures are intended to operate alongside OECD Two-Pillar reforms-reallocation of taxing rights to market jurisdictions and a global minimum tax-to strengthen cross-border tax enforcement, though treaty renegotiation and implementation challenges persist. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit entitlement requires genuine transactions and supplier verification to avoid denial and enforcement action.
Input Tax Credit (ITC) under GST is vulnerable to fake invoicing, where fabricated invoices are used to claim credit; liability can attach to recipients unless they demonstrate genuine transactions and statutory compliance. Courts have required detailed evidentiary examination before denying ITC and indicated that supplier registration cancellation alone does not justify automatic disallowance if the buyer maintained proper records. Recommended safeguards include stronger laws, better detection mechanisms, supplier verification, buyer education, and robust documentation practices. (AI Summary)