Business Law, Compliance & Tax Advisory Under One Roof

Take the resolution which never got filed into the minute book, the example we took at the beginning of this note. There was no sense of urgency on the day it was passed outside the minute book. But three years later, on the day the company’s first round of funding was being readied for closing, that missing file became the reason why the data room was far from being ready, pushing back the deal by weeks while the resolution was re-filed. Governance issues which seem non-urgent at the time, tend to surface when least expected and create impediments to growth, be it funding, an acquisition or merely facing a regulatory inspection.

This, we feel, reflects well on the kind of services offered by Corrida Legal to its clients. A company which forgot to file its CSR spend under Section 135 of The Companies Act, 2013 will discover the consequences when the Ministry begins asking questions on utilisation of unspent amounts. Similarly, a company which ignored the equalisation levy requirements will discover the same when a compliance officer takes a closer look at all those digital services it used and began asking questions on the same. A company which developed ESG disclosure practices around a template it found, but never actually looked at its own functioning is likely to see SEBI’s business responsibility report norms require it to report on matters on which it did not know it had to report. In each of these instances, the cost of fixing the issue far outweighs the cost of doing it right at the first instance.

These are the reasons why our role in assisting our clients with corporate governance compliance rarely ends at one meeting. The resolution that was never filed will need to be filed again if the shareholding changes. The transfer pricing documentation we did for our clients for this fiscal will need to change when the related party transactions begin to change. The ESG practices we helped develop with them will need to be updated when norms change or the company grows. As they grow, we continue to assist them since compliance is not a certificate to be achieved, but a standard to be maintained. That, as well as the fact that most legal risks in tax, directorships, and related-party transactions, can be eliminated at the source by ensuring processes and documents are correct upfront, is why our practice focuses on advisory and preventive services. Where disputes do arise, especially with tax authorities, we advise our clients accordingly and assist them at the tribunal or regulatory interface. As a consequence, while working on matters relating to filings, statutory records and regulatory submissions, our clients come back to us year after year, not just for one-time compliance support.

Our corporate advisory practice encourages businesses to build their corporate governance framework while also providing guidance on all statutory reporting and compliance obligations in order to maintain good corporate governance. Corrida Legal provides assistance with due diligence activities for investment, fundraising and also for acquisition. We hope you consider Corrida Legal as your strategic partner in developing and executing strong corporate governance and compliance practices that can withstand the scrutiny of any audit, fund raising or regulatory inspection.