The Hindu Business Line : Khaitan & Co all set to launch indirect tax practice

KHAITAN & Co, Advocates, Solicitors, Notaries, Patent & Trademark Attorneys, with offices in Mumbai, Kolkata, Kolkata and Bangalore, is all set launch its indirect tax practice in a big way.

The company, counted among the oldest law firms in the country (founded in 1911) is also building a strong direct tax team.

Among the other major services offered by the company now in a big way are in areas like international trade (including WTO, anti-dumping, etc) and monopolies and restrictive trade practices.

Speaking on the company's expansion plans, Mr N.G. Khaitan, Partner, said that the firm has worked out a conscious strategy to increase its presence in the areas of direct and indirect taxation and also intends to open an office at Chennai.

"We aspire to become an `A-Plus' practitioner of integrated tax and regulatory laws in the large and booming Indian tax space by providing high-quality tax advisory and litigation support services to our clients spread across the country."

The company has also roped in indirect tax expert Mr Ashok Dhingra as partner. Mr Dhingra was till recently with a global consulting firm in New Delhi.

Among the other experts who have joined Khaitan & Co recently as part of the tax advisory services team are Mr Rajan Gupta and Mr Rishi Joshi.

Mr Pradip (Pinto) Khaitan said that the law firm now had 110 lawyers on its active rolls, with as many as 20 partners and nearly 120 employees, enabling it to establish the largest dedicated tax practice team in the country.

He added that the company was now fully equipped to respond with speedy and creative solutions, which are demanded in today's highly competitive and rapidly changing environment.

On the scope for outsourcing of legal services from India, especially with regard to cross-border investment deals, he said that the potential was immense, considering that availability of legal services in India was not only of the highest quality but also highly cost-effective.

He added that a firm called Neo Worth, particularly to handle business process outsourcing related legal documentation, was recently set up in Mumbai with a team of 10 lawyers.

Mr N.G. Khaitan said that Khaitan & Co was the only member of Meritas in India. Meritas is a worldwide alliance of more than 200 independent law firms, membership to which is purely by invitation. "We were invited to become members of Meritas some four years ago."

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