Either the Indian Government is short of cash, is in full GST mode or it just does not like lawyers very much.
Read our 2011-12 Union Budget live blog with a blow-by-blow account of its unfolding and how it hit even harder than the 2009 budget: Advocates, arbitrators and arbitration centres providing “representational” services businesses were dragged into the service tax net. Law firms now have to pay service tax for advice to individuals. All service tax will now have to be paid as soon as the bill is sent, not when the the money is collected. Since lawyers’ clients can be notorious for losing bills in the back of the sofa, this could become an administrative headache.
And finally, some law firm associates might now have to charge service tax to their own law firm employers. It is hard to believe that the Ministry intended this because it will only make it even harder for them to chase down tax bills.
The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) is not amused after lobbying clearly produced few results in this case and its writ petition is stuck in a typically unhurried Bombay court. SILF chairman Lalit Bhasin has vowed to file a new writ against the new tax rules (although, to be fair to the Ministry, at least it removed the previously somewhat arbitrary discrimination between law firms and advocates in the service tax regime).
Judging by the lawyer strikes and protests following the 2009 Budget, this is far from over.
But what happened to protesting lawyers in Uttar Pradesh might give dissenting lawyers some cause for concern: police cane-charged and seriously injured a number of advocates in Lucknow protesting for an increase to the welfare fund. A former FoxMandal partner who was leading the protests and sustained minor injuries will now take legal action and challenge the constitutionality of police lathi charges, which also attracted media attention during the cricket world cup.
Cross examination
This Sunday is the day many have been waiting for (or waiting for to go away: read this blogger’s 10 reasons of why he/she thinks the exam is a bad idea).
First, the only anti-exam petition that was still in a High Court was taken out and into the Supreme Court with all the other pending cases. Then a new writ petition hit the Delhi High Court wanting final percentage grades to be disclosed by the BCI to enhance transparency (that one will now get heard on Monday).
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Mooting change
The Mooting Premier League (MPL) sponsored by Allen & Overy (A&O) has a new leader again after an action-packed week with the MPL NUJS corporate law live blog and the SP Sathe Moot. Legal brain sports does not get better than this!
MPL Live also catches up with ILS Pune’s Jessup qualifier about law school stereotypes and the passion of the moot.
More legal news
- IP world mourns Remfry & Sagar founder Vidya Sagar
- North-East to get 3 new high courts
- SC sends notice to Union Carbide in Bhopal gas curative petition
- Banking Amendment Bill strengthens RBI, curtails CCI
Deals of the Week
- ILS for banks that get Reliance Rosa Power project $50m
- Kochhar wins GAIL panel place after tender
- Luthra, Khaitan AZB-lateral raise $160m for Ratnakar Bank
Best of Blogs
- Quashing of PJ Thomas' appointment is another blow on the face of corruption in pronoy's blog
- Abortion in India in cogitasocietatis's blog
- Why Law as a Career? in abhyudaybhotika's blog
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