Mukesh Butani

Budget 2026-27: A reformist reckoner for taxes, certainty and relief

Budget 2026 signals a decisive push to cut tax litigation, decriminalise defaults and offer long-term certainty as India prepares to roll out the new income-tax law

Budget 2026-27: Recalibrating the tax framework for sovereign wealth funds

India's masterstroke was the red carpet rollout for sovereign wealth funds in 2020 with an exemption for income from investments in specified Infrastructure

Budget 2026-27: New playbook for trade, Customs reforms needed

A high-level committee should be set up to review India's trade and Customs regulations, and undertake economic impact analyses of trade agreements

From Azadi to Tiger: A paradigm shift in India's treaty landscape

SC's Tiger Global ruling marks a shift in India's tax jurisprudence, unsettling treaty certainty, expanding anti-avoidance scrutiny and raising concerns over predictability for foreign investors

Will Budget 2026 synchronise Customs law with India's FTA ambitions?

Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier

Income-tax law: New layout, old provisions, but complexities remain

Certain amendments on trust taxation are welcome. All classes of registered non-profit institutions such as public trusts, society, university/educational institutions have been identified

Union Budget 2025-26: A blueprint for sustainability and certainty

Anticipating US action on tariffs, India seems to have made the first move by revamping its tariff structure by reducing the slabs to eight rates

Union Budget 2024: A commitment to tax certainty

The introduction of the tax dispute settlement scheme promises a transformative impact on India's tax landscape

Tax proposals a mixed bag

Unlike recent Budgets, this year most taxpayers are in for a pleasant surprise with rationalisation of rates and slabs, which reduce the effective tax burden. In balance, it's a mixed bag

Interim Budget 2024-25: A turning point for investment treaties

This judgment opened the floodgates, and various similar claims were raised against the government asserting the investor's rights under other BITs

Cryptocurrency tax: Budget 2022 unveils norms for virtual digital assets

The move, though limited to income tax, has sent the ball rolling for a regulatory framework of crypto assets

A driver of economic revival

The finance minister must be appreciated for resisting the temptation to increase taxes

GST: An unappreciated reform

The cascading effect of taxes owing to crisscross and delinked taxes, which were officially acknowledged but never addressed, is a thing of the past

SC's struggles with 'unruly horse' of public policy in foreign awards

The Nafed-Alimenta judgment shows it might perhaps be time for Parliament to intervene and clarify the notion of public policy in the context of foreign arbitral awards

Move petroleum to GST: The time is now

The health crisis is a moment of reckoning and an opportune time to revisit GST policy-design

Vivad se Vishwas: Let this be the last scheme

We need innovative solutions to address tax litigation

Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2020: Trust, the new mantra in tax policy

The Centre's commitment to reduce harassment of a sound taxpayer reaffirmed

An ordinance tax boost

Short-term focus shifts to what extent the new measures will impact the fiscal deficit, accelerating non-tax revenue of the government

Amendments to the IBC: Correcting judicial errors

The operational creditors cited the NCLAT's decision on July 4, 2019, in Standard Chartered Bank vs Satish Kumar Gupta, R P of Essar Steel

A path to $5-trillion economy

The Budget focused on redistribution of wealth with tax administration reforms