S&R Associates is an Indian law firm with offices in New Delhi and Mumbai providing legal services to Indian and international clients.
Our lawyers are admitted to practice in India and many have previously practiced law in other jurisdictions, including in the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore. As a result, we offer our clients a unique combination of Indian law expertise coupled with international quality legal services.
We distinguish ourselves based on the quality of our services and legal advice and on the range of our experience. Our lawyers have advised on some of the most significant Indian transactions and matters in recent times. The quality of our legal advice and services has helped us become the law firm of choice for our clients and has also been recognised by various industry publications, surveys and rankings. Lawyers in each of our practice areas have routinely been recognised as leading lawyers in India by Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific, IFLR1000, Legal500 and RSG India Report.
Recent Publications
Cross-Border Share Swaps: Amendments to Regulatory Framework
In order to simplify cross-border share swaps and address certain challenges under the existing regulatory framework, the Government of India has recently amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019. The amendment became effective on August 16, 2024. Previously, permissible share swaps were restricted to issue of equity instruments by an Indian entity to foreign residents in exchange for equity instruments of another Indian company. The amendment now allows secondary share swaps and exchanges of equity instruments for equity capital of foreign companies. However, certain ambiguities persist, such as limitations on swaps involving Indian resident individuals and lack of guidance on downstream investments by Foreign Owned Controlled Companies (“FOCCs”) using share swaps. Further, Indian tax laws do not grant tax neutrality to swap structures unless conducted via merger or demerger, making such transactions taxable unless covered by a tax treaty benefit.
Foreign Investment in India from Bordering Countries: A Case for Review
Press Note No. 3 (2020 Series) (“PN3”) was introduced with the primary objective of “curbing opportunistic takeovers and acquisitions of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” However, the circumstances that prompted introduction of PN3 have changed significantly. There is a need to reflect on PN3’s impact on India’s FDI landscape. This note discusses certain key issues in relation to PN3 and the way forward for foreign investments from China and other countries that share land border with India.
Investing in AI in India (Part 2): Tracking the Regulatory Landscape
Prospective investors in Indian artificial intelligence (“AI”) companies should familiarize themselves with the Indian government’s initiatives in AI regulation and the direction of future regulation. This note, the second of a multi-part series on investing in the Indian AI sector, outlines some of the key developments in AI in the country. However, it is important to keep in mind that India’s approach to AI governance may change in the future, given the rapidly evolving nature of technology as well as the country’s dynamic regulatory trajectory, including with respect to data, intermediary liability, digital technologies, telecommunications and digital competition, as discussed in this note.