M S Sulthan Legal Associates is an Indian law firm with offices in Kozhikode, Kochi and New Delhi. Its advocates write on court rulings, corporate and commercial law, technology and data privacy, intellectual property and property law. These articles are for general information only and are not legal advice.
The Indian IT and SaaS sector is a global powerhouse, rapidly scaling beyond domestic borders to capture markets in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. However, the legal architecture required to safely export intangible services is vastly more complex than shipping physical goods.
India’s IT and SaaS export sector is a critical engine of the national economy. However, for decades, Indian technology exporters have grappled with an archaic regulatory hurdle: proving the export of intangible assets to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
On February 12, 2026, the Supreme Court of India delivered a rebuke that shook the country's real estate sector to its foundations. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant paused a routine administrative hearing to deliver a withering verdict on the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA): "Except facilitating builders in default, it is not doing anything else. Better to just abolish this institution."
On 6 April 2026, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act No. 6 of 2026) received Presidential Assent and was published in the Gazette of India - marking the most comprehensive overhaul of India's insolvency framework in its nine-year history. Passed by the Lok Sabha on 30 March 2026 and the Rajya Sabha on 1 April 2026, the Act amends six provisions, restructures the liquidation waterfall, codifies the clean slate principle, and puts hard-law teeth into timelines that were routinely breached in practice.
In Kerala, the exceptionally high value of land, combined with dense population demographics and highly fragmented landholdings, makes property boundaries a persistent flashpoint for civil litigation. What begins as a minor disagreement over a shifted fence or an overhanging sunshade frequently escalates into protracted legal battles that can paralyze property development and transactions for decades.
Part 2 turns to the Act's most ambitious interventions: an entirely new Creditor-Initiated Insolvency Resolution Process (CIIRP) that allows major lenders to launch insolvency outside the courtroom; India's first statutory group insolvency framework under Section 59A; and the long-anticipated legislative foundation for cross-border insolvency recognition aligned with the UNCITRAL Model Law 1997 under Sections 240B and 240C. Together, these provisions re-engineer India's insolvency machinery from a reactive, court-heavy model toward a proactive, creditor-led system.
India's cryptocurrency taxation framework—already among the most stringent in the G20—has grown significantly more demanding since July 2025. The Union Budget 2026-27 deliberately kept the existing three-layer tax structure intact. However, it introduced a landmark new penalty regime under Sections 509 and 446 of the Income Tax Act, effective April 1, 2026, targeting crypto exchanges and reporting entities that fail to submit accurate transaction data.
The cosmetics and personal care industry in India is experiencing unprecedented growth. However, transitioning from formulation to commercial production is heavily regulated to ensure public safety. In India, the manufacture of cosmetics for sale or distribution is strictly governed by the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, enforced at the state level by the Drugs Controller.
Real estate in Kerala commands premium valuations, making it an incredibly lucrative asset class. However, this high value also attracts aggressive, complex, and highly contentious title disputes. A single flaw in a deed executed thirty years ago, or a fraudulent transfer by a distant relative, can trigger decades of paralyzing civil litigation.
Most trademark applications in Kerala fail before they are even filed. The primary culprit is not a paperwork error or a missed deadline; it is the fundamental misunderstanding of what a trademark search actually entails.