In the history of political parties in India, the rise and fall of Janata Party must form an important chapter.

It appears there is just no winning in India for foreign law firms.

As though the opposition to them practising law here is not enough, the Indian Revenue Services (IRS) too are making their life hard.

Friday’s Mumbai Income Appellate Tax Tribunal (ITAT) ruling against Linklaters makes potentially all overseas professional services and law firms subject to income tax in India for the last six years or more if their staff visit India for 90 days in aggregate per year. The repercussions could be serious, according to Indian tax lawyers.

A Mumbai Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has found that Linklaters should pay income tax in India on all India-related profits after applying a retrospective Finance Bill 2010 amendment to section 9(1) of the Income Tax Act, going against the latest decision in the Clifford Chance tax battle that is currently in the Indian Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of India has requested Clifford Chance to provide details of its India-billings of more than a decade ago in its long-running dispute against the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT). The case is important to determine international firms’ income tax liabilities while billing for work in India.