Insights
Adv. Ravi Kumar
Notes on Indian law written by Adv. Ravi Kumar, Counsel. Particulars are on Adv. Ravi Kumar's page.
A bank guarantee is paid on a compliant demand, and a court stops payment only for a clear case of fraud, irretrievable injustice or special equities
An unconditional bank guarantee is a contract between the issuing bank and the beneficiary, separate from the contract it secures, so a demand that follows its terms obliges the bank to pay without weighing the dispute behind it.
A Karnataka school may charge only the fees the 1995 Rules prescribe, and a professional college only the fee a committee determines
A recognised private unaided school in Karnataka may levy only the fees prescribed under section 48 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, and a school that charges more faces a penalty of up to INR 10 lakh and an order to refund the excess under section 124A, imposed by the District Education Regulatory Authority after giving it an opportunity of being heard.
Appealing a goods and services tax demand takes 10 per cent of the central tax in dispute at each of two appeals, capped at INR 20 crore at each
A goods and services tax (GST) demand under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) is appealed first to the Appellate Authority under section 107 within three months, which one further month can extend, on payment of the admitted amount and 10 per cent of the remaining tax in dispute, capped at INR 20 crore of central tax.
An Internal Committee inquiry under the 2013 sexual harassment Act runs on clocks of three months, 90 days, ten days and 60 days
Under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, an employer must constitute an Internal Committee (named the Internal Complaints Committee in section 4(1)) by written order, and the inquiry that follows runs on fixed periods: a complaint within three months of the incident, extendable by up to three months, an inquiry completed within 90 days, a report within ten days of completion, action by the employer within 60 days of the recommendation, and an appeal within 90 days.
A borrower has 45 days to challenge a SARFAESI measure before the Debts Recovery Tribunal, and an appeal needs a deposit of at least 25 per cent of the debt
A borrower, guarantor or mortgagor who wants to contest a measure taken under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act) has 45 days from the measure to apply to the Debts Recovery Tribunal (DRT) under section 17, and any appeal to the Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (DRAT) under section 18 is not entertained until the borrower deposits 50 per cent of the debt, a sum that can be reduced to 25 per cent but never waived.
The SARFAESI clock in 2026: what each stage of enforcement costs while it runs
On an illustrative INR 25 crore non-performing exposure, a month of drift anywhere in the SARFAESI sequence costs about INR 38 lakh, roughly 1.5 per cent of the outstanding, and most of it is destroyed rather than transferred.
The Provident Fund wage ceiling is INR 25,000, and the 2026 Scheme changes withdrawals
Since 17 September 2026 the monthly wage ceiling for mandatory Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) coverage is INR 25,000, not INR 15,000, and since 29 June 2026 the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 has replaced the 1952 Scheme under the Code on Social Security, 2020.
An Indian employee in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait where salary is untaxed: residence, salary, end-of-service pay and NRE interest under Indian tax law
A citizen of India employed in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, on the premise that neither taxes his salary, is a non-resident for Indian tax unless one of the day tests in section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 is met or the deemed-residence rule in section 6(7) applies, which needs total income above INR 15 lakh other than income from foreign sources and no liability to tax in any other country.
What the Labour Codes Cost You, and Who Carries It
Gratuity on fixed-term staff now accrues at one year instead of five, and the 144-hour quarterly overtime ceiling is a limit rather than a cost.
Retrenchment, lay-off and closure under the Industrial Relations Code: the 300-worker line
From 21 November 2025, a factory, mine or plantation that averaged 300 or more workers a day over the preceding twelve months needs the appropriate Government's prior permission to lay off, retrench or close, and a retrenchment there needs three months' notice, where a smaller establishment gives one month's notice and only informs the Government.
An Indian employee in Oman after the personal income tax: residence in India, deemed residence and treaty credit
Oman enacted a personal income tax by Royal Decree 56/2025, in force from 1 January 2028: 5 per cent on net income above Omani rial (OMR) 42,000.
A commercial bank can classify a wilful defaulter only through two committees, a 21 day notice and a 15 day representation, and a compromise lifts the label only when it is paid in full
Under the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks, Treatment of Wilful Defaulters and Large Defaulters) Directions, 2025, a commercial bank can label a borrower a wilful defaulter only through two committees and two written windows, 21 days for the borrower's reply to a show cause notice and 15 days for a representation to the review committee, and where the account was screened as a wilful default case at the outset, the whole process has to finish within six months of the loan becoming a non-performing asset (NPA).
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