Legal & Industry Updates - March 2019
The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Ordinance, 2019 ("Arbitration Ordinance")
The Ministry of Law and Justice, on 2nd March, 2019, approved the promulgation of Arbitration Ordinance with regard to establishing the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) for creating a hub for institutionalised arbitration and better management of arbitration. NDAIC will seek to bring targeted reforms to develop itself as a flagship institution for international and domestic arbitration.
NDIAC will be headed by a chairperson, who has been either a Supreme Court or High Court judge or an eminent person having special knowledge and experience in the conduct or administration of arbitration law or management, to be appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. There will also be two full-time or part-time members from amongst eminent persons having substantial knowledge and experience in institutional arbitration, both domestic and international.
Arrest of Amrapali Group’s Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) and two other directors
In a separate case lodged by the Delhi Police with its Economic Offences Wing (EoW), under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 120B (punishment of criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and following the registration of a case by EoW against the CMD and two directors the Hon’ble Supreme Court allowed the arrest of Amrapali Group’s CMD and two directors. The Supreme Court also ordered the attachment of personal properties of the CMD and the two directors along with the Amrapali Group to deposit Rs. 200 crores, which were taken on account of loans and advances, by 31st March, 2019.
MakeMyTrip (MMT) files a suit in Delhi High Court against EaseMyTrip
Travel company MMT has filed a suit against EaseMyTrip, its travel rival, for trademark violation. MMT has accused EaseMyTrip of buying keyword (ad word) ‘makemytrip’ from Google on its search engine. This means any customer searching for MakeMyTrip may end up being shown results with EaseMyTrip pages on top. This has led to MMT spending more to come on the top of search results for promoting its own brand, which the company feels is an unfair attempt of diverting traffic to another platform and thus MMT has made Google party to the legal suit as well.
Amendment to the Income Tax Act, 1961 (" IT Act")
The Ministry of Finance, on 7th March, 2019, has notified the amendment to Section 10 (10) (iii) [Incomes which do not form part of total income] of the IT Act wherein the income tax exemption limit on gratuity has been doubled to Rs 20 lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh. The amendment has come in to force in order to accommodate rising inflation and salary levels eventually resulting in huge saving for employees with long years of service. This amendment to the IT Act will also benefit employees who are not covered under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
Disclaimer: The updates provided in this document is not a legal opinion and does not claim to capture all legal developments related to the subject matter stated herein. It is advisable to seek legal advice for accurate applicability, prior to relying on the updates for any legal matter.