India: How to navigate Indian M&A tax challenges

As corporations and other investors turn their attention to international opportunities, they are looking beyond traditional markets to achieve high growth and competitive advantage. During the last 20 years of economic liberalisation, India has launched itself as a superior financial centre and boasts a professional business culture, a well established corporate and legal system, and English as the language of commerce. In recent times India has witnessed a spurt in cross-border transactions. Cross-border transactions have attained unprecedented importance as a means of achieving growth, acquiring technology and brands, entering new markets etc. The direction of this activity has not been limited to acquisitions within India or of Indian companies, but has begun to include Indian entities making acquisitions abroad. The relentless forces of globalisation have raised a myriad of concerns about the extent of tax avoidance and evasion, pushing tax administrators constantly to develop regulations to address these concerns. One...