AZB boosts Delhi’s indirect tax partnership with senior IRS officer KP Singh

Exclusive Featured

Monday, 15 December 2014 By Legally India Law firms

AZB & Partners has hired ex Indian Revenue Service (IRS) senior official KP Singh as a partner in Delhi to specialise in regulatory and indirect tax, who joined earlier today.

“We were [eagerly] waiting for the government to give him his release,” said AZB Delhi managing partner Ajay Bahl. “We are very happy, he’s a great hire, 23 years in the government and we wanted to fill that space from the regulatory and indirect tax side, apart form the usual excise and customs [expertise he also has in addition to economic offences].”

The other indirect tax partner in Delhi is Suresh Varanasi, who joined in 2009 from KPMG, and Bahl said that he and Singh would provide a great combination of views from private practice and ex-government.

The internal AZB announcement read:

Mr. Singh, who belongs to the Indian Revenue Service and is a qualified lawyer, has held various senior positions in the Government of India during his twenty three year tenure and has extensive experience in the areas of Customs, Excise, Service Tax, economic offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act and the like, SEZ Policy, Anti-dumping and related aspects.

Comments

Lawyer 16 Dec 2014, 05:20

+7 -6

This will be the partner in charge of lobbying then?

Guest 16 Dec 2014, 16:34

+2 -1

Any idea when Mr Singh retired from service, Kian?

Last Light in SoBo 17 Dec 2014, 09:34

+2 -4

His service rules have a cooling off period of at least one year. AZB seems to have forgotten doing that much of DD before going on the PR bit.

hazed 28 Dec 2014, 17:37

+3 -2

the article mentions that Suresh Varanasi is the only other indirect tax partner. What about Abhinav Ashwin? Is he not a partner dealing with indirect taxes.

Julius Caesar 30 Dec 2014, 11:10

+1 -3

If this official is from Indian Revenue Service (Customs & Excise)then in terms of Section 35Q(3) of Central Excise Act, 1944, any IRS official who has served for more than three years and has retired/resigned shall have a cooling period of two years before they can represent before any Central Excise Officer. Further in terms of Rule 11 of CCS Pension Rules 1972 no retired officer of IRS Group A shall not set up a practice before expiry of two years from the date of his retirement in any area which was within the local limit of his jurisdiction during the last three years immediately before his retirement and in areas other than the above, without the previous sanction of the President. Pensioners who set up practice in contravention of the provisions shall not get any pension during the period of such practice or for such further period as the President of India directs. So if this retired official Mr. KP Singh has fulfilled the above conditions then it is fine for him and AZB Partners. Otherwise, he is jacked.

Commenting is closed for this article.