Sansa Law Desk

An Importer Exporter Code (IEC) is a ten-digit registration number issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) that is mandatory for conducting any import or export activity in India. Under the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2023, no person shall make any import or export without holding a valid IEC, except for categories specifically exempted. The entire application process is digital, completed through the DGFT portal, and the code is typically issued within one t

Filing Form 11, the Annual Return for a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), is a mandatory statutory compliance under Section 35 of the LLP Act, 2008, read with Rule 25 of the LLP Rules, 2009. Every LLP registered in India must file Form 11 with the Registrar of Companies within 60 days of the close of the financial year, making 30 May the annual deadline. The form provides the Ministry of Corporate Affairs with a snapshot of the LLP's partner composition, capital contributi

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers, Disclosure Scheme (FAST-DS) Rules, 2026 through Notification No. 114/2026 dated 14 August 2026. The scheme, which came into force on 16 August 2026, provides a one-time, time-bound window for eligible taxpayers to voluntarily disclose specified foreign assets and foreign income that were not previously reported in their income-tax returns. The disclosure window will remain open until

Converting a partnership firm into a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) allows business owners to retain the operational flexibility of a partnership while gaining limited liability protection for all partners. The statutory framework for this conversion is provided under Section 55 of the LLP Act, 2008, read with the Second Schedule. The process involves obtaining digital signatures, reserving the LLP name, filing prescribed forms with the Registrar of Companies, and execut

The Supreme Court of India on 31 July 2026 dismissed the appeal filed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order that had set aside a Rs 301.61 crore penalty imposed on Grasim Industries Limited for alleged abuse of dominance in the viscose staple fibre (VSF) market. A bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran upheld the NCLAT's finding that the CCI had violated principles of natural justice

The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023 is India’s first comprehensive data protection legislation, establishing a framework for processing personal data of Indian residents. With the DPDP Rules notified on 13 November 2025, organisations face a definitive compliance deadline of 13 May 2027, when full enforcement powers and penalties take effect. The 18-month window from notification to enforcement gives businesses time to build, test, and operationalise their d

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reinstated the Default Loss Guarantee (DLG) framework for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), effectively reversing restrictions introduced under the RBI Digital Lending Directions, 2025 that had required lenders to exclude such guarantees from loss estimates on loans originated through fintech partners. The amendment, issued through the RBI (Non-Banking Financial Companies, Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning) Am

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reaffirmed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on Mohit Gupta, proprietor of Safe Trading, for operating as an unregistered investment adviser in violation of the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013. The order, which follows a reconsideration directed by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), retains the penalty under Section 15HA of the SEBI Act, 1992, and forms part of the regulator's intensifying crackdown on individuals

Filing DIR-3 KYC is a mandatory compliance requirement for every individual holding a Director Identification Number (DIN) in India. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), through the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Amendment Rules, 2025, notified vide G.S.R. 943(E) dated 31 December 2025, has changed the filing frequency from annual to once every three consecutive financial years. This significant reform, effective from 31 March 2026, also consolidat

The Corporate Laws Amendment Bill 2026, introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 March 2026 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination. The Bill proposes amendments across 107 clauses to two foundational statutes, the Companies Act, 2013 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008. Its stated objective is to decriminalise routine procedural defaults, raise compliance thresholds for smaller enterpris

India's merger control regime underwent a significant overhaul on September 10, 2024, when the Competition Commission of India (Combinations) Regulations, 2024 came into force alongside several related rules and notifications. These changes, stemming from the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023, introduced a deal value threshold, revised filing fees, shorter review timelines, and a refined green channel process. This guide covers the key steps for filing a pre-merger combinatio

When a startup or growth-stage company raises a new funding round at a valuation lower than its previous round (commonly called a "down round"), early investors face the risk of their shares being worth less per unit than what they originally paid. Anti-dilution clauses in a shareholders agreement (SHA) are the primary contractual tool for protecting investors against this risk. Drafting these clauses under Indian law requires careful attention to the Companies Act, 2013, FEM

On April 29, 2026, the Reserve Bank of India issued the RBI (Non-Banking Financial Companies - Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation) Amendment Directions, 2026, effective from July 1, 2026. The Amendment Directions introduce a significant new concept in NBFC regulation: the 'Unregistered Type I NBFC,' a category of non-banking financial company that is exempt from the mandatory registration requirement under Section 45-IA of the Reserve Bank of In

Running a private limited company in India involves tracking recurring compliance deadlines across multiple regulators. Directors and company secretaries must coordinate filings with the Registrar of Companies (ROC), income tax authorities, GST authorities, and other bodies throughout the year. Missing a deadline can trigger automatic penalties, additional fees, and in severe cases, DIN deactivation or strike-off proceedings. A well-structured compliance calendar is the most

Any cross-border M&A transaction involving an Indian target must navigate the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and its subordinate rules before closing. India's FEMA framework functions as a gating mechanism: a deal that is structurally sound under company law can still be blocked, delayed, or exposed to penalties if requirements around sectoral caps, pricing guidelines, reporting timelines, or downstream investment rules are not satisfied. The principal regulatio