Kochhar & Co has hired Reena Asthana Khair as senior partner and head of international trade and indirect tax.
The Delhi University LLB graduate (also with BA and MA in economics), had been running her independent chambers since 1995, and has joined with a team of two associates in Delhi.
According to the firm’s press release, her becoming a partner was “giving formal colour to a long-standing professional relationship”, with her commenting: “I’ve known key partners at Kochhar & Co for a long time now. We’ve worked together on some really challenging matters and it’s been a very rewarding experience for me.”
Khair added that she hoped to strengthen Kochhar’s international trade and indirect taxation litigation and advisory practices. “A large part of my practice entails representing large corporates on modification of practices and transactions, something that is much required in the present circumstances,” she said.
The firm’s chairman Rohit Kochhar said in the press release that her experience was “unmatched in the field of contentious matters pertaining to indirect taxation and trade remedies”, with several cases that she had argued resulting in “landmark judgments on interpretation of terms, classification of goods and evolution of laws in the areas of customs, and anti-dumping”.
According to the press release, she has represented more than 200 clients, including multi-nationals and public-sector undertakings before forums such as the customs, excise and service tax appellate tribunals, besides high courts and the supreme court.
She specialises in particular in “classification of goods under the Harmonized System Nomenclature, valuation, transitional credit under GST, refund of ITC, zero-rated supply, intermediary, drawback, export promotion schemes, EOUs, SEZs, disputes on what constitutes ‘Import’, and exemptions issued under various statutes”, stated the firm.
Kochhar has one other indirect tax partner, Shampa Bhattacharya, and Prateush Sharma had headed the practice for a brief tenure from 2015 until 2016, after which he had joined Mankind Pharma as general counsel (GC).
The direct tax practice at the firm continues to be headed by Shahid Khan.
With her joining,