DoT gives a conditional nod to Vodafone-Idea Cellular merger
Vodafone Idea is on its way to becoming the largest telecom operator in India as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday gave a conditional nod to the merger between the second- and the third- largest telcos in the country. UK-headquartered telecom major Vodafone and Kumar Mangalam Birla-controlled Idea Cellular cannot operate as one company till they pay more than Rs 72 billion to the government as one-time spectrum charges. The DoT has asked for a bank guarantee of Rs 33.42 billion from Idea Cellular, while Vodafone has to pay Rs 39.26 billion in cash in lieu of spectrum liberalization, sources said. Idea needs to give an undertaking about fulfilling any other dues in the telecom operation.
Boardroom battle: NCLT dismisses Cyrus Mistry’s petition against Tata Sons
The Mumbai Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ruled in favour of Tata Sons, dismissing Cyrus Mistry and his family firms’ petition against the holding company on Monday, marking an end to the first phase of a bitter legal battle that began in December 2016. The dismissal is a major setback for Mistry as he may find it tougher to prove merit of his case when the battle enters the second phase at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in Delhi, said legal experts.
GST Council unveils draft of changes proposed to GST law
India has proposed a slew of changes to the year-old goods and services tax law, including an amendment to deny credit in lieu of accumulated balances of education cess, secondary and higher education cess, Krishi Kalyan cess, and additional excise duties levied on textile and textile articles. The GST Council, the apex decision-making body for the tax, on Monday unveiled the draft of changes proposed to the GST law before they are introduced in the upcoming monsoon session of parliament. India Inc.’s key demand on transfer of cess credits has been turned down, but substantial changes have been proposed to provide relief to businesses.
Sivasankaran to take Cyrus Mistry to court for foiling TTSL-Vodafone deal
Serial entrepreneur C Sivasankaran has said he will take ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry to court for allegedly mismanaging and scuttling the planned sale of Tata Teleservices to Vodafone India, causing a Rs 3,000 crore loss for the shareholder-businessman. Sivasankaran, who claims he still owns about 5 per cent in TTSL, told ET he will also write to Tata Sons, the holding company and promoter of the telco, to sue Mistry because the scuppered deal would have cost the group Rs 26,000 crore.
Sebi orders Rising Agrotech to refund investors’ money
Regulator Sebi has barred Rising Agrotech and its present and former directors from the capital market for at least four years and directed them to refund the money that the company had collected illegally from investors. According to a Sebi order, the company had allotted equity shares to 530 investors in 2010-11 and 930 investors in 2011-12 and the total amount mobilized by the firm by such allotment was more than Rs 1 crore. Since the shares were issued to more than 49 people in each allotment, the offer qualified as a public issue and required their compulsory listing on a recognized stock exchange.
Bombay HC to hear Godrej’s plea against bullet train project
The Bombay high court will hear on 31 July a plea filed by Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd against National High-Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRCL) and the state and Union governments, seeking the court’s intervention to ensure that an alternate route is chosen for the bullet train project. One of the entry points to the underground tunnel of the project falls on prime property in Vikhroli, a central suburb of Mumbai, which belongs to the century-old maker of white goods and locks. The company has thus moved against the government authorities under the relatively new law of Right to Fair Compensation & Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation & Resettlement Act, 2013, against the proposed acquisition.
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