Oct 04, 2015
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i.e. Infrastructure and Energy Quarterly
Vollume III: Issue I
July, 2014
|| Mumbai || New Delhi || Pune ||
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Infrastructure and Energy Quarterly
DSK Legal, Advocates & Solicitors 2
About DSK Legal
DSK Legal, a full service law firm, was established in
Mumbai in April, 2001. In the last decade DSK Legal has
expanded rapidly, and currently has offices in Mumbai,
Delhi and Pune.
DSK Legal offers legal services to a host of both
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Employment Laws, Insurance, Intellectual Property,
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rather than solely on traditional legal competencies. Our
Energy and Infrastructure practice comprises of a team
with significant experience in handling Renewable and
Non-Renewable Energy matters and Infrastructure
matters.
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Foreword
We take pleasure in bringing you this edition of i.e. -
Infrastructure and Energy Quarterly.
The new financial year 2014-15, till now, has been
eventful. The new Government after getting a clear
electoral mandate has already expressed its firm
commitment and focus towards the infrastructure and
energy sector in the Union Budget including Rail Budget
presented by it earlier this month.
In its endeavor to streamline and give a new direction to
the entire sector, the new Government has announced
several new projects and has proposed changes in the
prevalent policy frameworks to bring clarity. In this issue,
we have highlighted the budgetary proposals of the new
Government for the infrastructure and energy sector in the
light of the key changes proposed, new projects
announced and the opportunities opened up for the
private players.
The much needed single window environment clearance
process has also been implemented from June this year.
In this issue, we have briefly discussed about the single
window online portal for environment clearances.
The judgment of the Honble Supreme Court of India in
the matter of Kone Elevators India Private Limited v. State
of Tamil Nadu & Ors. delivered during this quarter will be
a landmark judgment with respect to taxation on
composite on-shore EPC contracts. In this issue, we have
briefly reviewed the judgment in light of the tax
implications.
Additionally, we have also highlighted the key regulatory
and policy changes brought about in the sector.
We hope you enjoy reading this edition of i.e. and we
would be glad to receive your comments and feedback on
the same at the following e-mail ids:
Infrastructure and Project Finance Team
DSK Legal
Contents
ARTICLE
BUDGET 2014-15: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NEW GOVERNMENTS BUDGETARY PROPOSAL FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY SECTOR 4
SHORT NOTES
SINGLE WINDOW ONLINE PORTAL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE 11
TAXATION ON COMPOSITE CONTRACTS FOR ONSHORE SUPPLY AND SERVICES 13
OTHER REGULATORY UPDATES
15
Image Source: Cover photo and Images on Pages 4, 11 and 13: Wikimedia Commons
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Budget 2014-15: Highlights of the New
Governments Budgetary Proposal for
the Infrastructure and Energy Sector
Highlights of the key changes proposed, the new projects announced and
the major opportunities opened up for the private players in the Union
Budget 2014-15 presented by the Union Finance Minister
Infrastructure Energy sector has suffered
greatly in the recent past on account of
lackluster approvals and clearances
process; disputes and several other
reasons. However, this sector has been
given the deserved impetus in the Union
Budget 2014-15 (Budget).
The new Governments firm emphasis and
focus on the sector can be evidenced not
only from the Governments large fund
allocations for the sector, but also from the
Finance Ministers commitment for creating
better policy framework for execution of
projects. In the Budget, the Government
has allocated a substantial part of the
planned expenditures for the infrastructure
and the energy sector and has announced
several new projects, while staying
committed to the overall growth of the
sector. Additionally, the Government has
also freed-up enough opportunities for
private players both domestic and
international.
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In this article, we have highlighted the key
changes, the new projects announced and
the major opportunities opened up for the
private players in the infrastructure sector
in the first part and in the energy sector in
the second part.
I. INFRASTRUCTURE
This Government has a major focus of
providing good infrastructure, including
public transport
Mr. Arun Jaitley, Union Budget 2014-15.
The growth of the infrastructure sector has
a significant role in the economic
development of any nation. The pro-
development Budget reflects the new
Governments strong commitment towards
the growth of infrastructure.
In this article, we have divided the
infrastructure sector into (a) Transport
Infrastructure; (b) Commercial and
Residential Infrastructure; (c) Social
Infrastructure; and (d) Infrastructure
Funds,or analysis.
Table depicting the new infrastructure related proposals and projects announced in the Budget.
A. Transport Infrastructure
a. Road Transport
The Government has given the necessary
boost to the ambitious Amritsar Kolkata
Industrial Corridor and Bengaluru
Mumbai Economic Corridor projects by
committing to complete the master
planning and perspective planning,
respectively, expeditiously. The
Government has also announced that the
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National Industrial Corridor Authority will
be set up with its headquarters in Pune to
coordinate the development of industrial
corridor projects and the transport and
cities linked therewith.
While planning for the new age industrial
corridors, the Government has also
demonstrated its firm commitment towards
the national and state highways. During
2014-2015, 8,500 km of national highways
are expected to be completed and Rs.
37,880 Crore has been allocated for the
National Highways Authority of India and
for the development of the state roads, out
of which Rs. 3,000 Crore will be reserved
for the development of the roads in the
North East. The Government has also
committed to initiate work for expressways
in select routes to ease road transport.
The Budget also allocated Rs. 14,389 Crore
for the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak
Yojana,.
b. Metrorail Transport
Metrorail has gained significance in India
and to further boost this sector, the new
Government has encouraged development
of new metrorail systems, including light
rail systems, through the PPP mode and
has committed to support such projects
through Viability Gap Funding (VGF).
The Government has also allocated Rs. 100
Crore for the development of the
Ahmedabad and the Lucknow Metro
projects.
c. Water Transport
Indias long shoreline opens up great
opportunities for Indias port business, and
to tap this, the Government has proposed
to award 16 new port projects this year
with a focus on port connectivity. Further,
to take off some load from the busy
Vishakapattanam and Chennai Port, the
Government has proposed to develop the
Kakinada Port as a key driver of economic
growth in the region.
Along with the ports, in an endeavor to
also boost the domestic shipbuilding
industry, the Government has committed to
notify a comprehensive policy during this
fiscal year which will promote the domestic
shipbuilding industry.
In order to promote inland water
navigation, the Government has proposed
to launch the Jal Marg Vikas Project under
which the first National Waterway in India
will be developed, from Allahabad to
Haldia, covering a total distance of 1,620
km. The successful completion of this
project will enable commercial navigation
of vessels up to 1,500 tonnes in weight.
The project is proposed to be completed in
6 years at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,200
Crore.
d. Air Transport
Air transport, in India is still more bent
towards the metro cities, and in the
Governments endeavor to boost the air
transport industry in the other areas of the
nation, it has proposed to launch a scheme
for development of new airports in Tier I
and Tier II cities either through the Airport
Authority of India or through PPP.
B. Commercial and Residential
Infrastructure
a. Smart Cities
The new Government has proposed very
ambitious and new-age project of
developing 100 Smart Cities, claiming it to
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be the cornerstone of the Indias growth
strategy. With a budget allocation of Rs.
7,060 Crore in the current fiscal, the smart
cities are proposed to be developed as
satellite towns of larger cities.
To encourage foreign investment for
developing the smart cities, the regulatory
requirement of the built up area and capital
conditions for FDI has also been proposed
to be reduced from 50,000 square metres
to 20,000 square metres and from US$ 10
Million to US$ 5 Million, respectively, with a
compulsory lock in of 3 years post
completion.
b. Special Economic Zones
Developing Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
has been a successful way of driving
growth of Indias manufacturing sector and
the Budget reflects the new Governments
commitment towards reviving the SEZs.
The Government has announced that
effective steps will be taken to
operationalize the SEZs, and to revive
investors interest in developing better
infrastructure for the SEZs. Further, the
Government has also committed to develop
2 new SEZs, one each at Kandla in Gujarat
and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in
Mumbai.
C. Social Infrastructure
a. Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban
Mission
The rurban model of development is
designed to bring in urbanization in the
rural areas. It is a development model
through which the rural population can
enjoy efficient and modern civic
infrastructures and associated services in
the rural areas.
Based on the success of similar model in
Gujarat, the Shyama Prasad Mukherji
Rurban Mission has been proposed to be
launched to deliver integrated project
based infrastructure in Indias rural areas.
The preferred mode of implementation of
the projects will through the PPP route.
Considering majority of India is still
covered by rural areas and there is great
scope of developing these regions, this
ambitious project of the new Government
can become a key driver of Indias growth
strategy, if the projects are implemented
properly.
b. Pooled Municipal Debt Obligation
Facility
The total corpus of the Pooled Municipal
Debt Obligation Facility, started in 2006
with participation of various banks to
promote and finance infrastructure projects
in urban areas on shared risk basis, has
been duly raised from Rs. 5,000 Crore to
Rs. 50,000 Crore by the new Government
in the Budget. The New Government has
also extended the Facility up to March 31,
2019.
c. River Linking Project
Another ambitious project of the new
Government is the river linking project. In
India, the perennial rivers are not uniformly
spread throughout the geography of the
nation, and therefore not all areas get
water uniformly throughout the year,
leading to draught in certain areas.
In order to overcome this hurdle, the
Government has envisaged the river linking
project and has allocated Rs. 100 Crore for
the preparation of the Detailed Project
Reports for the project.
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D. Infrastructure Funds
The Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs),
governed by the Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI), has been a
successful instrument for pooling
investments. To further incentivize the
investors the new Government has
proposed to give the REITs a pass through
feature for the purpose of taxation.
SEBI had issued a consultation paper on
Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)
on December 20, 2013 proposing the new
avenue for infrastructure financing. We had
analyzed the structure of InvITs in the
January 2014 edition of IE [Vollume II,
Issue II]. For our overview of the InvITs
please click here.
The new Government has finally
announced InvITs, the REITs type
structure for PPP and other infrastructural
projects, and has decided to accord it the
tax efficient pass through status.
II. ENERGY
Energy not only plays a significant role in
maintaining the countrys foreign exchange
balance thereby effecting the economic
development, but also plays a significant
role in boosting the domestic industrial
growth. We have divided the energy sector
into (a) Power; (b) Petroleum and Gas; and
(c) Mining, for our analysis.
A. Power
a. Non Renewable Power
The Government, has proposed several
steps in the Budget in order to curtail the
power crisis in India and to augment the
growth in the sector. Key amongst such
steps is the proposal to set up the Ultra-
Modern Super Critical Coal Based Thermal
Power Technology Scheme in order to
promote cleaner and more efficient thermal
power in India.
The Government has allocated an initial
sum of Rs. 100 Crore for preparatory work
for this new scheme.
In order to reflect the stability in the power
sector in India to the prospective investors,
the Government has announced the grant
of 10 years income tax holiday to the
undertakings which begin generation,
distribution and transmission of power by
March 31, 2017.
The Government has also proposed to
launch the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram
Jyoti Yojana, envisaged to provide 24x7
uninterrupted power supply to all Indian
homes.
As a part of the scheme, feeder separation
will be launched for augmenting power
supply and to strengthen sub-transmission
and distribution the rural areas. A total of
Rs. 500 Crore has been allocated for the
scheme.
Additionally, the new Government has also
committed to resolve the issues affecting
the coal linkages.
b. Renewable Power
In the renewable power space, the key
development, amongst others, is the
Governments commitment to accelerate
the implementation of the Green Energy
Corridor Project which will facilitate
evacuation of renewable energy across the
country.
In order to tap the immense potential of
solar power generation in India, the new
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Government has proposed to develop Ultra
Mega Solar Power Projects in Rajasthan,
Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and the Ladakh
region of Jammu and Kashmir and has
allocated Rs. 500 Crore for the purpose.
Further, setting up of 1 MW Solar Parks on
the canal banks at various locations has
been proposed at a cost of Rs. 100 Crore.
The Government has also enlarged the
scope of the existing custom and excise
duty concessions and benefits granted for
setting up solar power projects in India in
order to incentivize the solar power
developers.
Similarly, to promote wind energy
generation, the Government has reduced
the basic customs duty from 10% to 5%,
and has exempted excise duty on forged
steel rings used in the manufacture of
bearings of wind operated electricity
generators and has also exempted the 4%
SAD on parts and raw materials used for
the manufacture of wind operated
generators.
The new Government has also proposed to
prescribe a concessional basic customs
duty of 5% and exempt excise duty, on
machinery and equipment required for
setting up compressed biogas plants (Bio-
CNG).
Table depicting the energy sector related proposals and projects announced in the Budget.
B. Petroleum and Gas
The proposals for the troubled petro-gas
sector are limited to the Governments
commitment for accelerating the
production and exploitation of Coal Bed
Methane reserves, and its plan to add
15,000 km of gas-pipelines to the existing
15,000 km through the PPP route in order
to complete the gas grid across India.
C. Mining
The new Government has not only
encouraged investments in the mining
sector, but it has also committed to
promote sustainable mining practices in
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order to meet domestic requirements
without negatively affecting the
environment.
Further, the Government has also
committed to resolve the existing
bottlenecks in mining sector, including the
issues relating to iron ore mining in certain
states, and has proposed to amend the
Mines and Mineral (Regulation and
Development) Act, 1957 if required.
Conclusion
The new Government has already set the
ball in motion for developing the countrys
infrastructure and has strongly expressed
its commitment and focus towards the
sector. The changes proposed and the new
projects announced in the Budget have
immense potential to boost the nations
economic development.
As always, actions speak louder than words
and one hopes, all the Budget
announcements do not remain mere
rhetoric.
Authors
Ajay Shaw, Partner
DSK Legal
Mumbai Office
And
Anirban Roy Choudhury, Associate
DSK Legal
Mumbai Office
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Single Window Online Portal for
Environmental Clearance
A brief overview of the ambitious single window online portal for
submission of environmental clearance proposals which has been finally
implemented in June 2014
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change on the occasion of World
Environment Day on June 5, 2014
announced the implementation of the
online single window portal for submission
of applications for environmental
clearances with effect from June 5, 2014.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change clarified that during the
transition period from June 5, 2014 up to
June 30, 2014 the Ministry of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change would accept
proposals for environmental clearances in
either physical copy mode or online mode
but however, from July 1, 2014 onwards
the proposals for environment clearances
will compulsorily have to be made in online
mode.
This step is not only an indication of
promotion of transparency in governance
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and better functioning of the Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change,
but also serves as the long demanded
single window clearance point for
environmental clearances, approvals and
permits.
At a point of time when several projects in
India are struck for lack of environmental
clearances wich pose as one of the key
hurdle in any infrastructure project, the
implementation of the single window online
portal for environmental clearances will not
only be a boon for the project developers
but will also attract the investors and
lenders.
As per an Office Memorandum of the
Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change dated June 6, 2014, under
this online submission mechanism the
following process will apply:
(i) Upon successful submission an
acknowledgment slip will
automatically be e-mailed to the
Project Proponent and the Member
Secretary of the concerned Expert
Appraisal Committee.
(ii) The TOR and the application for
environment clearances will have to
be examined within five days and
fifteen days respectively by the
Member Secretary of the concerned
Expert Appraisal Committee.
(iii) Upon successful admission of the
proposal, an acceptance letter will be
sent to the Project Proponent
informing that its proposal will be
appraised by the Expert Appraisal
Committee.
(iv) Upon the submission of hard copies
of all requisite documents the Expert
Appraisal Committee will be required
to process the proposals and make
its decision within the time frame
stipulated under the Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification
2006. If this ambitious online portal is effectively
implemented it will not only make the
process of obtaining environmental
clearances for the infrastructure projects
much easier and less time consuming for
the project developers, it will also boost the
faith of the project financers and investors.
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Taxation on Composite Contracts for
Onshore Supply and Services
A Brief Overview of the Judgment of the Honble Supreme Court of India in
the matter of Kone Elevator India Private Limited v. State of Tamil Nadu
and Others
The primary intention behind split onshore
contracts in any EPC arrangement is to
keep the onshore supply component
distinct and separate from the onshore
services component.
As a practice, domestic EPC arrangements
are generally split in this manner since
under Indian tax laws, if the domestic EPC
arrangement is by way of a composite EPC
contract then the it poses risk of incidence
of both value added tax and service tax on
the entire consideration of the composite
EPC contract for domestic supply and
services.
With respect to the onshore supply and
service components of the EPC
arrangement, as long as the onshore
supply and service component of the EPC
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arrangement is being provided by a
resident Indian company, the income from
such onshore supply and services will be
subject to income tax in India.
The position with respect to the value
added tax and service tax on the supply
component and the service component of
the EPC arrangement respectively was not
clear and EPC contractors preferred
domestic EPC arrangements split to keep
the supply component distinct and separate
from the services component.
However, the recent judgment passed by
the five judge constitutional bench of the
Honble Supreme Court of India on May 6,
2014 in the matter of Kone Elevator India
Private Limited v. State of Tamil Nadu and
Others [WP (C) No. 232 of 2005] (Kone
Elevators Case) substantially clarified and
gave a finality to the position to be taken
regarding such domestic EPC
arrangements.
The five judge constitutional bench
comprising of the Chief Justice of India
Honble Justice R. M. Lodha, A. K. Patnaik,
Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, Dipak
Misra and F. M. Ibrahim Kalifulla,
JJoverruled Honble Supreme Court of
India's earlier decision taken in the earlier
matter of Kone Elevators.
The judgment in the Kone Elevators Case
authored by Justice Dipak Misra ruled that
the arrangement for the sale and
installation of a lift car is a works contract
and not just a contract for sale.
The judgment clarified that the
arrangement for the sale and installation of
a lift car is a works contract and not a
contract for sale of goods, therefore the
entire consideration for the arrangement
will not attract value added tax, the labour
and other costs in installing the lift (the
consideration for the service component)
will have to be deducted from the entire
consideration and only the actual cost of
the lift itself will attract value added tax.
This landmark Supreme Court judgment
not only gave finality to a much litigated
issue but also will benefit the industry
significantly. Earlier the position was not
clear and often value added tax claims
were raised by the revenue department on
the entire consideration of the contract for
the sale and installation of lifts without
allowing any deduction on account of the
service component involved on which
service tax had already been paid. The
judgment has huge financial ramifications
as now, the position has been clarified as
above.
The 219 page judgment delivered by the
five judge constitutional bench of the
Honble Supreme Court of India gave
finality to a much litigated issue and this
judgment will also act as a precedent in
case of other composite EPC contracts
involving onshore supply and services.
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OTHER REGULATORY UPDATES
THE MODEL TRIPARTITE
AGREEMENT FOR TAKE-OUT
FINANCING OF PUBLIC PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS IN THE
PORTS SECTOR GETS APPROVED
The Empowered Inter-Ministerial Group
constituted by the Cabinet Committee on
Infrastructure has approved the Model
Tripartite Agreement for take-out financing
of Public Private Partnership projects in the
Ports Sector on April 10, 2014 and the said
approved Model Tripartite Agreement was
notified by the Department of Economic
Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of
India vide its office memorandum dated
April 30, 2014.
NHAI BRINGS TRANSPARENCY TO
PPP PROJECTS BY IMPLEMENTING A
DATABASE OF INFORMATION
RELATING TO PROJECTS
The National Highway Authority of India
(NHAI) has decided to publish all private
public partnership (PPP) project related
information on its website www.nhai.org.in.
NHAI has decided to implement and
maintain a database where all relevant
information relating to all specific projects
can be obtained by typing the name of the
particular project.
Information pertaining to all stages of the
development of the project, like
construction, operation and maintenance,
will be available from the database.
Information and details pertaining to the
concessionaire, independent engineer and
safety consultant will also be available from
the database including a copy of the
Concession Agreement between NHAI and
the concessionaire and between NHAI and
Independent Engineer/ Safety Consultants.
Further, NHAI had previously decided that
every project must host a website for that
specific project. Whereas most project
specific websites have already been
launched, the remaining are aimed to be
launched by July 15, 2014.
SUPREME COURT OF INDIAS BAN
ON GOAN IRON ORE PARTLY LIFTED
On October 5, 2012, the Honble Supreme
Court of India vide its order banned mining
and transportation of iron ore from Goa in
order to clamp down on illegal mining in
the state of Goa.
However, early this year the Honble
Supreme Court of India decided to ease the
ban and allow sale of the iron ore which
has already been mined while continuing
the ban on further extraction of iron ore.
Thereafter, iron ore handling has
commenced at the Mormugao Port.
MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT,
HIGHWAYS AND SHIPPING DECIDES
TO UNDERTAKE FUTURE HIGHWAY
PROJECTS THROUGH THE EPC MODE
In a press release dated June 24, 2014 the
Ministry of Road Transport, Highways and
Shipping has informed that it is considering
undertaking future highway projects under
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the engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) route instead of through
the public private partnership (PPP) route.
The Ministry of Road Transport, Highways
and Shipping further informed that over
260 projects worth around Rs. 60,000
Crore which were implemented through the
PPP route are currently stalled on account
of various grounds and therefore the
Ministry of Road Transport, Highways and
Shipping has decided to take up such
highway projects through the EPC route
wherein they can hold the EPC contractor
responsible in case the highway project is
not successfully implemented within the
stipulated timeframes.
THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
ISSUES REVISED GUIDELINES ON
ECBS
The Reserve Bank of India, has vide its
Master Circular on External Commercial
Borrowings and Trade Credits (revised ECB
Guidelines) revised the existing guidelines
on external commercial borrowings. The
revised ECB Guidelines has expanded the
scope of ECBs by not only modifying who
can borrow and who can lend but also the
very purpose for which ECB can be raised.
In an endeavor to give the necessary
impetus to the infrastructure sector in
India, the RBI has made several changes in
the revised ECB Guidelines. The RBI has
widened the definition of Infrastructure
Sector in the revised ECB Guidelnes to
make the ECB route effective for financing
of infrastructure. Further, the RBI has now
permitted NBFC-Infrastructure Finance
Companies (NBFC-IFCs) to avail the ECB
route for lending to the infrastructure
sector. The RBI has also permitted NBFC-
Asset Finance Companies (NBFC-AFCs) to
make use of the ECB route for financing
the import of infrastructure equipment for
leasing to infrastructure projects.
Further, Holding Companies/Core
Investment Companies will now be
permitted to avail the ECB funding (under
the approval route) for raising funds for
their Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)
engaged in the infrastructure sector in
India.
EXCISE AND CUSTOM DUTY
BENEFITS FOR SOLAR POWER,
WIND POWER AND BIO-GAS POWER
PROJECT DEVELOPERS
The Government, in order to give the much
needed boost to the infrastructure and
energy, has notified various custom duty
and excise benefits for the project
developers in the Solar, Wind and Bio-Gas
power sector, in addition to the existing
concessions and exemptions. This move
will further incentivize the renewable power
project developers
THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
ISSUES REVISED GUIDELINES FOR
ISSUE OF LONG TERM BONDS BY
BANKS FOR FINANCING OF
INFRASTRUCTURE
Pursuant to the Union Budget 2014-15, the
Reserve Bank of India has on July 15,
2014, issued a revised guidelines for issue
of long term bonds by banks for financing
of infrastructure and affordable housing
(addressing the liability side of the banks
balance sheets, raising long term funds for
lending to key structures.
In an endeavor to ensure adequate credit
flow to the infrastructure sector, the
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Reserve Bank of India has revised the
existing policy on issue of long term bonds
for the infrastructure sector.
As per the revised guidelines, the bonds
will be fully paid, redeemable and
unsecured and would rank pari-passu along
with other uninsured and/or unsecured
creditors with a minimum maturity period
of 7 years. Additionally, the revised
guidelines have put in polace several
relaxations and new norms in order to
boost the infrastructure sector.
THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA
ISSUES GUIDELINES FOR FLEXIBLE
STRUCTURING OF LONG TERM
LOANS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
PROJECTS
Pursuant to the Union Budget and in order
to remove the existing bottlenecks in
project financing, the Reserve Bank has
issued a Circular dated July 15, 2014 to
notify guidelines for flexible structuring
long term loans for the infrastructure
sector.
RBI has clarified that it does not have any
objection in banks financing/refinancing of
long term projects in the infrastructure
sector. However, the RBI has further
clarified that only term loans to
infrastructure projects, as defined under
the Harmonized Master List of
Infrastructure of RBI, and projects in core
industry sector, included in the Index of
Eight Core Industries (base: 2004-05)
published by the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry, Government of India, (viz., coal,
crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery
products, fertilizers, steel, cement and
electricity) will qualify for such refinancing.
In addition to this, the RBI has set out
further conditions and stipulations in the
Circular in connection with this.
INCOME TAX HOLIDAY FOR POWER
GENERATORS
The new Government has proposed to
extend the income tax holiday of 10 years
under Section 80-IA of the Income Tax Act,
1961 till March 31, 2017 i.e. the new
undertakings which will begin power
generation before March 31, 2017 can
claim such exemptions. At present it can be
claimed only by undertakings which begin
to generate power before March 31, 2014.
Awards and Recognitions
Chambers & Partners Rankings 2013 & 2014
Asia Law 2014
Best Law Firm of the Year (Mumbai) 2012-2013
Project Finance Lawyer of the Year 2012-2013
D I S C L A I M E R
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