Some of India’s top legal firms have decided against setting up branches in GIFT (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) despite a host of tax incentives and light-touch regulations.
Among the sops which have been doled out by the government to woo the legal fraternity to the emerging global financial and IT services hub are concessions such as tax waiver on fee income and regulations to facilitate ease of doing business.
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Speaking to FE, Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas (SAM), ranked among top law firms in the country, said her firm does not have any plans at present to set up a branch at GIFT. “While we handle several cases for companies with business at GIFT, all our work is being handled smoothly by our Ahmedabad branch,” she said.
“We dont just want to set up an office in GIFT merely to avail the tax benefits. The viability of setting up an office there has to be studied carefully. For instance, would top talent uproot from cities like Delhi and Mumbai to move to a place like GIFT which hardly offers any social life including the absence of alcohol. Let’s remember that people used to a certain lifestyle in big cities would not move just for the money.”
Shroff said post-Covid options like remote working are infinitely more viable than moving to locations like GIFT.
Echoing similar sentiments, Rutuja Pol of Ikigai Law, a niche technology law and policy firm, also ruled out the possibility of setting up a branch office at GIFT. Pol, who largely looks after GIFT says it’s easier to commute from Delhi whenever required. “Sometimes, I travel to GIFT almost once a week,” she said.
The first significant foray made by a top notch law firm into GIFT was by J Sagar Associates (JSA) way back in 2017. But the firm chose not to renew its licence during the pandemic. Nitin Potdar, former Equity Partner at JSA who had set up the office at GIFT, said “Very frankly we wanted to have the first mover advantage in terms of capturing business there.” Potdar,
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