Indirect Tax, Customs & Trade

Every commercial transaction has taxation aspects, and businesses need to identify them to fulfil their tax responsibilities. S&A Law Offices’s highly qualified Indirect Tax Practice team (including Lawyers and Chartered Accountants) works with Indian and international businesses and advises them on all aspects of Indirect Taxation in India, including GST, Customs & Trade laws.

S&A’s multi-disciplinary team provides a broad spectrum of services under Indirect Tax, Customs & Trade Group with a specialized team having extensive experience across varied sectors such as manufacturing, real estate, pharma, infrastructure, oil and gas, defense, media, IT ITES, retail, hospitality, banking and financial services, e-commerce, etc. The indirect tax practice offers the entire range of services to multinationals and domestic corporations in designing, implementing, and defending their overall indirect tax strategy.

Comprehensive GST Solutions:

• GST Advisory:

• Determination of applicable tax rates, classification of goods and services, and availability of indirect tax benefits/exemptions.
• Review of the business model and supply chain.
• Advice on eligibility of input tax credit, job work, liability to pay tax on import of goods and services or under reverse charge on various activities, valuation of goods and services on supply, etc.

• Compliance and Support:

• Assistance with registration, filing refund claims, and review of data for monthly and annual returns.
• Conducting detailed indirect tax due diligence to recommend taxefficient practices.
• Development of suitable costing models under GST law and pricing strategies compliant with anti-profiteering provisions.
• Post-implementation reviews to validate compliance and tax efficiency.

• Litigation Support:

• Representing clients before departmental authorities, tribunals, High Court, and Supreme Court.
• Assistance in obtaining advance rulings and making representations before the GST Council.
• Addressing scrutiny and queries from tax authorities.

• Training and Awareness:

• Customized GST training for businesses to understand and implement GST effectively.
• Advisory on realigning operations for tax efficiency, fiscal impact assessment, IT functional advisory.

Our Expertise In Customs And Trade Services

Comprehensive Customs And Trade Solutions:

• Customs Advisory:

• Classification of goods and determination of duty rates for import/export, and applicability of exemption notifications.
• Filing submissions before the Special Valuation Branch of Customs (SVB) to determine the arm’s length price for goods imported from associated enterprises.
• Availability of duty drawback on the export of goods/services.
• Export/import controls over restricted goods & technologies and sanctions.

• Compliance and Support:

• Assistance with obtaining Import Export Code, licenses/authorizations from DGFT for availing export incentives or import/export of restricted goods.
• Setting up and exit of units under 100% Export Oriented Scheme, SEZ, and Free Trade Warehousing Zone units.
• Compliances under various regulatory laws in relation to export/import of goods and services.
• Diagnostic review of operations under Customs Laws and the Foreign Trade Policy.

• Litigation Support:

• Representing clients in anti-trade remedy investigations for levy of AntiDumping Duty, Safeguard Duty, and Countervailing Duty.
• Assistance during raids or investigations by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and other regulatory authorities.
• Litigation support from adjudicating levels to the Supreme Court.

• Trade Policy Advisory:

• Advising on the coverage of the Preferential Trade Agreement and evaluating product manufacturing processes.
• Comparative analysis of duty savings under FTAs.
• Assistance with securing benefits under the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Scheme, establishing units under MOOWR, and reviewing customs risks and broker regulations.