Managing Partner of an Indian law firm in London, Pavani Reddy, says there are clear benefits from opening up the legal market in India. For international companies to take advantage of opportunities, Reddy says local laws need to be made pro-international arbitration. “Singapore has been attracting international arbitration to its shores ever since they amended their laws. The courts are delivering judgements quickly. One is guaranteed a judgement at an arbitration centre within 72 hours,” she said.
Speaking exclusively to BusinessLine , Pavani Reddy said it was time to remove the hurdles that could disincentivise investment in India. She was in Mumbai to showcase London as a hub for arbitration cases. She said many foreign lawyers tend to face restrictions on operating in India.
“In most cases, India is still a closed shop. It is important to buckle up and sort out our legal mess, as it is a unique opportunity, not only for India, but also for countries keen to do business with India,” she said. Following UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s trip to India, the Mayor of London sent a business delegation to India via the UK Trade and Investment. Pavani Reddy, Managing Partner at Zaiwalla & Co Solicitors, was part of the delegation.
With £16 billion of trade every year between India and the UK, officials said India invests more in the UK than the rest of the European Union combined.
Major hurdles Pavani Reddy was born in Andhra Pradesh and qualified as an advocate in India. She is currently with an Indian law firm in London that specialises in international arbitration, commercial litigation and joint ventures.
Stating that several issues had made people nervous about investing in India, like the Vodafone taxation case, Nokia’s tax case with Income-Tax authorites and India readying to tax e-commerce firms as well as others in the digital economy, Reddy said these would be major hurdles to investment.
“Global corporates are nervous about taxation issues in India, especially since the issues related to Vodafone created negative publicity. Most know that the taxing regime in India is flexible; there are ways to dodge taxes,” said Reddy, adding that tax disputes arising out of cross-border transactions need to go for international arbitration. “The legal system in India needs to be stronger if you want global corporates to have confidence in the legal system. We need to create some sort of a set-up where resolution is quicker and handled in an economical way,” said Reddy.