Adventurous tax positions adopted by businesses often result in demand notices being issued many years after the transaction is over. One peculiar feature of the GST laws is that it entitles tax officers to demand differential tax liabilities upto three years after the supply transaction is concluded, thus making it impossible for businesses to pass on the incidence of such liability to the customers. This has the potential to expose businesses to differential tax liabilities (averaging 15%), with 18% interest and stiff penalties.
Such belated demands have the potential of wiping off profits and net worths built over years. It is only in hindsight that a tax payer wonders why he is litigating an indirect tax dispute which is conceptually a pass- through tax to be borne by the customer / end consumer. “If only the tax authorities had raised their objection in time” is the most common lament of most such taxpayers. The above problem, which is exacerbated by the complexity in India’s GST laws, underpins the importance to have proper and balanced advice at the transaction stage itself.
At present, in India, businesses take GST advice either from law firms or firms of Chartered
Accountants or former revenue officers who practice as consultants. TLC Legal is a bit different from other law firms as it brings under one roof an amalgam of lawyers, chartered accountants, former senior bureaucrats from the Revenue Services and industry experts. Headquartered at Mumbai with branches at Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, TLC is widely acclaimed in the industry for its well-rounded and balanced approach, both in the GST advisory and litigation practice.
TLC’s team of 14 Partners has decades of experience in tax litigation, tax policy formulation and tax administration. The Firm has handled some of the most complex cases involving interpretation of indirect tax laws such as GST, Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and VAT Laws before the Supreme Court, High Courts, Tax Tribunals, Advance Ruling authorities and other fora. TLC has to its credit more than a thousand reported judgements in various law journals. The Firm has contributed significantly to growth of indirect tax law jurisprudence in India.
The Firm’s vast litigation experience allows it to advise and handhold its clients in the course of inquiries, investigations, and audits, which are all pre-litigation stages.
TLC Legal is a bit different from other law firms as it brings under one roof an amalgam of lawyers, chartered accountants, former senior bureaucrats from the Revenue Services and industry experts
The Firm also offers litigation and advisory support in the areas of customs, Foreign Trade Policy, FEMA, PMLA and Trade Remedies like safeguards, anti-dumping and countervailing.
TLC’s advisory team works towards minimising litigation by providing balanced and business-oriented advice, which is acceptable not only to the businesses but also to the Revenue.
What truly sets TLC apart is its work culture which allows professionals from diverse backgrounds and seniorities to work together as one cohesive team. The culture at TLC encourages its members to have a work-life balance. A testament of this is the fact that TLC has been once again voted as the Employer of Choice by Asian Legal Business in 2021. “I am very proud of my team and it’s obsession for excellence” says Vipin Jain, it’s founder and Managing Partner who just completed 32 years in the profession.
