Future of India-Mauritius tax treaty – Impact of new Protocol on M&A deals and Private Equity structures

Tuesday, April 23, 2024 (06:00 PM to 07:00 PM (IST))

 

INTRODUCTION:

The Indian government has signed a protocol amending the India-Mauritius tax treaty (Protocol). The Protocol seeks to include the principal purpose test (PPT) to the India - Mauritius tax treaty. The Protocol is yet to come into effect, which will happen only upon both parties notifying the Protocol as per their domestic laws.

The Protocol comes post the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) initiative undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and India’s intent to align with global efforts to combat tax treaty abuse. The Mauritius Treaty was earlier amended in 2017 to allocate right to tax capital gains arising from transfer of shares of Indian companies to India and to introduce a limitation of benefit clause. Even post the 2017 amendment to the Mauritius Treaty, a significant amount of foreign investment is routed to India through Mauritius.

The Protocol is likely to be considered as another turning point for the India- Mauritius tax treaty. From foreign investors standpoint, it will be essential to re-visit existing structures in light of the Protocol.

We are excited to bring this webinar to you to discuss the following:

• Legislative history and tax avoidance
• Impact on grandfathered (pre-April 2017) investments
• Retroactive application of Protocol – impact on concluded deals
• Impact on FPI investments
• Implications on indirect transfer situations
• Negotiating tax indemnities in cross-border M&A deals
• Impact on corporate reorganizations / strategic buyouts
• Structuring alternatives to Mauritius

Flow of the session

06:00 PM to 06:45 PM (IST)	Panel Session
06:45 PM to 07:00 PM (IST)	Audience Q&A

Speakers:

Philip Baker KC Barrister Field Court Tax Chambers

Philip Baker KC is a practicing barrister and King’s Counsel, practicing from chambers in Field Court, Gray’s Inn. Additionally, he is Visiting Professor at the Law Faculty of Oxford University and a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London.

He specialises in international aspects of taxation, which covers both corporate and private client matters. He has advised and represented several governments on tax matters, and appeared as an expert in cases around the world. He has a particular interest in taxation and the European Convention on Human Rights, is author of a book on Double Taxation Conventions, and editor of the International Tax Law Reports. He was one of the General Reporters on the Practical Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights for the International Fiscal Association Congress in Basel in 2015, and is one of the directors of the Observatory on Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights.

 

Parul Jain Head, International Tax Practice Nishith Desai Associates

Parul is a Chartered Accountant, a Certified Public Accountant and a lawyer with two decades of experience. She focuses primarily on cross border investments and VC / PE funding structures. She has advised various PE clients with respect to their portfolio business operations restructuring, including advice on M&A transactions, spin offs and group reorganisation strategies. She was previously a partner in the Financial Services and M&A Tax Practices at a Big Four accounting firm.

Parul has been acknowledged by ITR World Tax as a 'Highly Regarded Tax Practitioner' and 'Women in Tax Leader' for the year 2023, as well as consecutively for several years. Additionally, she has been included in The Legal500 and Chambers & Partners international directories as a recommended lawyer for tax practice in India for the year 2024.

 

Dr. Dhruv Janssen-Sanghavi Co-Head, International Tax and International Tax Litigation Practices Nishith Desai Associates

Dr. Dhruv Janssen-Sanghavi is the Co-Head of the International Tax and International Tax Litigation practices at Nishith Desai Associates, and leads the firm’s European operations from the Netherlands. He is widely published, and is acknowledged as an expert in tax treaty interpretation. He is the recipient of the 2013 IBA Scholarship for Tax Matters and the 2017 IFA President YIN Scientific Award.

Dr. Janssen-Sanghavi received his Advanced LLM in International Tax Law from Leiden University (2011) and defended his doctoral thesis “Structural Issues in the Income Tax Treaty Network — Towards a Coherent Solution” at Maastricht University, where he was an Assistant Professor of International Tax Law and Policy. Apart from being a practitioner, Dr. Janssen-Sanghavi teaches at a number of universities around the world, and contributes regularly to the work of the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Tax Matters.

 

Ratnadeep Roychowdhury Leader, M&A and PE Practice Nishith Desai Associates

Ratnadeep has over 15 years of experience as a commercial lawyer, advising on some of India’s highest profile M&A transactions and corporate disputes. He brings a unique mix of transactional experience and expertise in leading high profile, high stakes corporate litigation. He has also spent several years as the general counsel of a private equity fund. He has led on numerous private equity and M&A transactions, usually of a cross border nature. His work has been across sectors and geographies with a special emphasis on the financial services space and renewables space. He also has extensive experience in transactions involving listed securities, Invits, REITs and other public market instruments.

 

 

Ipsita Agarwalla Leader, International Tax Practice Nishith Desai Associates

Ipsita is a lawyer and chartered accountant and has over 6 years of experience in advising on tax and regulatory aspects of M&A transactions, corporate restructurings, inbound / outbound investments and repatriation. She has extensively worked with several private equity and venture capital funds in structuring investments, GP and LP participation and carry structuring. She frequently advises MNCs on structuring of employee incentives, including ESOPs and related tax and regulatory implications.