Legal Insights & Procedural Guides

Key Takeaways:

• • Under Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, a domestic arbitral tribunal must render its award within 12 months from the completion of pleadings, extendable by 6 months by mutual consent.
• • The Commercial Courts Act, 2015 governs commercial disputes with a Specified Value of Rs. 3,00,000 or more, enforcing a non-extendable 120-day limit to file a Written Statement and mandatory Section 12A pre-institution mediation.

Key Takeaways:

• • Section 138 compliance is strictly governed by a three-stage statutory clock: 3-month cheque validity, 30-day demand notice window, 15-day drawer payment period, and 1-month court filing deadline.
• • Under Section 142(2) of the NI Act, territorial jurisdiction for cheques presented for collection through a bank account lies with the Magistrate court where the payee maintains their collection bank branch.

Key Takeaways:

• • All companies with a registered office across India or anywhere in Uttar Pradesh fall under the territorial jurisdiction of the Registrar of Companies (ROC), Kanpur.
• • The integrated SPICe+ (INC-32) and AGILE-PRO-S forms consolidate ten regulatory services, including DIN allotment, PAN, TAN, EPFO, ESIC, and optional GSTIN.

Key Takeaways:

• • Imported Western boilerplate templates frequently fail under Indian law due to strict prohibitions on post-termination non-competes (Section 27) and clauses shortening statutory limitation periods (Section 28).
• • Under Section 74 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872, a stipulated liquidated damages sum acts as a ceiling on recovery rather than an automatic entitlement unless genuine pre-estimated loss is established.

Key Takeaways:

• • Unlike US or UK law, Indian law under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 does not apply a 'reasonableness of time or geography' test to validate post-employment non-compete clauses.
• • In-term non-compete and exclusivity covenants (operating strictly during the subsistence of the employment contract) are completely valid and enforceable by injunction, as held in Niranjan Shankar Golikari.

Key Takeaways:

• • Under Section 16(2)(aa) and (ba) of the CGST/UPGST Act, 2017, a buyer can claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) only if the supplier has filed GSTR-1 and the invoice reflects unobstructed in the buyer's GSTR-2B statement.
• • GST adjudicating authorities issue Show Cause Notices under Section 73 (non-fraud/bona fide errors), Section 74 (fraud/suppression), or the newly inserted Section 74A (unified regime from FY 2024-25 onwards).

Key Takeaways:

• • Under Section 4 of the IBC, 2016 (as notified on March 24, 2020), the minimum default threshold to file a Section 7, 9, or 10 insolvency petition is Rs. 1,00,00,000 (Rs. 1 Crore).
• • All companies and LLPs having their registered office in Uttar Pradesh (under ROC Kanpur) fall within the exclusive territorial jurisdiction of the NCLT, Allahabad Bench at Prayagraj.

Key Takeaways:

• • Co-founder disputes over unvested equity and pre-incorporation code ownership are the leading causes of failed seed and pre-Series A due diligence in India.
• • A standard Founders' Agreement structures a 48-month reverse vesting schedule with a 12-month cliff, distinguishing between 'Good Leaver' and 'Bad Leaver' exit scenarios.

Key Takeaways:

• • Businesses located in Uttar Pradesh fall under the territorial jurisdiction of the Trade Marks Registry, New Delhi branch office.
• • Individuals, DPIIT-recognized Startups, and Udyam-registered MSMEs receive a 50% statutory rebate on government e-filing fees (Rs. 4,500 per class instead of Rs. 9,000).

Key Takeaways:

• • UP-RERA operates through two primary benches: the Headquarters Bench at Rajya Niyojan Sansthan, Kalakankar House, Old Hyderabad, India, and the Regional Bench at Greater Noida.
• • Under Section 18(1) of the RERA Act, an allottee facing possession delay has an unqualified statutory election: either withdraw from the project for a full refund with interest, or remain in the project and claim monthly delay interest.