In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.
On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.
In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.
In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.
In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.
"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi
Ram Krishnaswamy
Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Friday, April 28, 2017

11165 - The Finance Act, 2017 - Implications & Constitutionality? -Mondaq

The Finance Act, 2017 - Implications & Constitutionality?
Last Updated: 26 April 2017
Article by Ran Chakrabarti, Anubha Sital and Shringarika Priyadarshini

IndusLaw

1. INTRODUCTION
India's finance bill for the financial year 2016-2017 (the "Bill") was presented by the Finance Minister on February 1, 2017 and approved by the Lok Sabha with certain modifications on March 22, 2017. The Lok Sabha voted the Bill to be a money bill. 
Finance bills are legislative proposals presented in the Lok Sabha (India's lower house) before the beginning of every financial year and after the budget announcement for the next financial year. Finance bills essentially propose all the amendments to be made to various acts (such as the Income Tax Act 1961) to implement the budget in the coming financial year.
Generally, bills that exclusively contain provisions for the imposition and abolition of taxes and the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund are certified as money bills.1 The significance of a money bill is that it only needs to be put to vote in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha (India's upper house) can only suggest certain amendments to a money bill. The amendments are then presented before the Lok Sabha, which can either accept or reject them.
On March 30, 2017, the Lok Sabha rejected all the amendments proposed by the Rajya Sabha to the Bill and the same was sent to the President of India for his assent. The Finance Act, 2017 (the "Act") came into effect from April 1, 2017 after the President granted assent to the Bill on March 31, 2017.
In this article, we highlight the key changes introduced under the Act and its implications and analyze the legality of such changes.

2. KEY AMENDMENTS UNDER THE ACT
Broadly, the Act brings into force the mandatory requirement for unique identification Aadhaar registration, prohibits cash payments above a certain payment, merges quasi judicial tribunals, restructures the appointment of members to certain judicial tribunals and amends the rules on the funding of political parties.

2.1 Mandatory requirement for Aadhaar
With effect from July 1, 2017, every person must provide a unique identification Aadhaar number ("Aadhaar Number") at the time of:
  1. applying for a Permanent Account Number ("PAN"); or
  2. filing of income tax returns.
In case a person has not obtained an Aadhaar Number, that person will be required to indicate that an application has been filed for procuring an Aadhaar Number and that person shall quote the Aadhaar enrolment number procured at the filing of the application for a PAN and filing of the income tax return.
The significance of this amendment is considerable. It will essentially mean that every tax paying resident in India (including foreign nationals) will have to register for an Aadhaar Number, submitting biometric data to the authorities in the process.
The key rationale for this mandatory requirement is to link the Aadhaar Number to individual PANs, preventing people from having multiple PANs and essentially rooting out tax evasion. The Government argues that this will create a watertight system for regulating the entire taxation system, making it easier to identify tax leakages or undocumented cash in India.

2.2 Mandatory declaration of Aadhaar Number
With effect from July 1, 2017, every person holding a PAN and who is eligible to hold an Aadhaar Number is mandatorily required to provide the authorities with his or her Aadhaar Number, by a date and in a manner as may be prescribed by the Government, who may in its sole discretion exempt classes of persons from this requirement through a notification. Additionally, in case a person fails to provide his or her Aadhaar Number, the PAN of such a person will be deemed invalid.
In furtherance of the Government's objective to address tax leakages and tax evasion in India, it is intended that every person shall hold an Aadhaar Number. This will theoretically bring all persons eligible to pay tax under the scanner of the Government or its agencies. Critics point out that biometric data collected by the Government, mandatorily required when applying for an Aadhaar Number runs the risk of being potentially misused or disclosed to unauthorized recipients.

2.3 Restructuring of certain tribunals
Pursuant to the Act, certain existing tribunals are to be restructured and merged. In particular:
  • the Competition Appellate Tribunal will be merged with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal;
  • the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal and the Cyber Appellate Tribunal will be merged with the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal;
  • the National Highways Tribunal will be merged with the Airport Appellate Tribunal;
  • the Employees Provident Fund Appellate Tribunal will be merged with the Industrial Tribunal;
  • the Copyright Board will be merged with the Intellectual Property Appellate Board;
  • the Railways Rates Tribunal will be merged with the Railways Claims Tribunal; and
  • the Appellate Tribunal for Foreign Exchange will be merged with Appellate Tribunal (constituted under relevant foreign exchange manipulation legislation).
While several of these mergers appear to have merit on grounds of functional similarity, there are a few mergers, which might raise eyebrows. It's not immediately apparent, for example, why the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal is to be merged with the Cyber Appellate Tribunal and the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal? Questions have also been raised on the constitutionality of merging these tribunals through a money bill.

2.4 Terms of service on various tribunals
Generally, service conditions of chairperson and members of various quasi-judicial tribunals were prescribed under relevant legislation establishing such tribunals. The Act however, controversially amends such legislation, granting the power to the Government to make rules with respect to: (i) qualifications; (ii) appointments; (iii) term of office; (iv) salaries and allowances; (v) resignation; (vi) removal; and (vii) other conditions of service for members of such tribunals.
These rules will be applicable to members of such tribunals, including chairpersons, vice-chairpersons and members, among others, of specified tribunals, appellate tribunals, and other authorities.
Pursuant to these amendments the term of office for these persons shall not exceed 5 (five) years and such members shall be eligible for reappointment. The age of retirement has also been amended to: (i) 70 (seventy) years for chairpersons, chairmen or presidents; and (ii) 67 (sixty-seven) years for vice-chairpersons, vice-chairman, vice-presidents and presiding officers.
Critics of these changes suggest that it gives unchecked power to the Government, entitling them to essentially install political appointees to govern such tribunals, arguably eroding the principle of the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judiciary. This amendment could therefore, potentially compromise the independence of such quasi-judicial tribunals.
In this context, it should be noted that the Supreme Court of India ruled in 2014 that appellate tribunals have similar powers and functions to the High Courts in India, which include the power to appoint judges and determine the terms and conditions for such appointments, confirming the general principle of non-intervention by the executive.2

2.5 Donations made by companies to political parties
Earlier, the Companies Act, 2013 provided for a cap on the contributions made by companies to various political parties to the extent of 7.5% (seven point five percent) of the net profit of the last 3 (three) financial years.3 Further, a company making such contribution was required to disclose the contribution made along with the details of the political party to whom such contribution has been made.4
The Act, controversially, amends the Companies Act, 2013 to remove this cap of 7.5% (seven point five percent) and the requirement of disclosing such contributions made to political parties.
The amendment is motivated by the Government's objective to carry out political finance reform, but the implications are significant: firstly, it entitles a company to make uncapped contributions to political parties (potentially leading to multiple political pressures to donate); and secondly, since companies making contributions are no longer required to disclose such contributions, the amendment, if anything, makes political financing less transparent. The amendment could lead to the creation of shell companies to channel undocumented money into the political and electoral process in India.

2.6 Cap on cash transactions
The Act introduces a cap on cash transactions above INR 2,00,000 (Indian Rupees two lakhs) (just over USD 3,000):
  1. in aggregate from a person in a day; or
  2. in respect of a single transaction; or
  3. in respect of transactions relating to one event or occasion from a person,
Transactions exceeding these thresholds will only be permitted through an account payee cheque or an account payee bank draft or an electronic clearing system through a bank account.
After the Government's demonetization drive in November 2016, this amendment is intended to curb large cash transactions from seeping back into the system and specifically curb large unaccounted cash transactions injected into real estate and gold bullion. Further, this amendment should theoretically reduce cash flow in the market, thereby, bringing more transactions within the banking system and traceable by the tax authorities in India.
We would query how successful the new restriction might be in preventing cash from seeping back into the black economy? How will it be monitored or policed, if the recipient of the cash does not necessarily have to deposit the proceeds into a bank account? Perhaps a more effective way of preventing cash from seeping back into the black economy post demonetization, would have been to limit cash withdrawals from the banking system, forcing the uptake of internet-banking and other electronic methods of payment, leaving electronic signatures to the movement of large sums of cash.

2.7 Power to carry out search and seizures
The Act also controversially introduces sweeping powers to the authorities to conduct tax investigations. Earlier, the Income Tax Act, 1961 empowered the relevant authorities to enter and search any building, search any person or seize any documents if they had reason to believe that any person failed to produce certain documents or if any person was in possession of any money, bullion, jewelry or other valuable article and had failed to disclose such possession, or for any other reason provided under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The Act now empowers relevant authorities under the Income Tax Act, 1961 to carry out a search or seizure without having to declare reason to believe to such person or any authority or appellate tribunal, previously required under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Critics point out that this is a draconian amendment, raising fears that the relevant authorities may exercise unchecked and arbitrary power to conduct investigations, leading to the risk of harassment and potential tax terrorism.

2.8 Power to impose penalty
The Act also clarifies the power to impose a penalty. Earlier, the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Depositories Act, 1996 were amended in 2004 to empower the adjudicating officer to impose penalties on offenders for various offences, including their failure to furnish information, documents or returns. The Act reinforces this power, clarifying that the adjudicating officer will always be deemed to have this power.

3. CONCLUSIONS
The amendments under the Act have received a mixed response by the business, political and academic communities.
On the one hand, critics point out that privacy is being further eroded by mandatorily requiring individuals to register for an Aadhaar Number. Many have questioned the integrity of the mechanism designed to keep individual data private, and to what extent the authorities should be able to monitor cash transactions by individuals.

On the other hand, development demands the expansion of the tax net. Currently just 3 (three) per cent of India's population is estimated to file a tax return, which is woefully inadequate for the fiscal needs of a rapidly developing economy.

From a public policy perspective, Aadhaar has a much greater penetrability amongst the masses when compared to PAN and making Aadhaar a mandatory requirement for tax filings should help track tax defaulters. 

In this context, it should be noted that two petitions have been filed with the Supreme Court of India for the determination of the legality of the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar Number for tax filings, under Section 139 AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This amendment has been questioned in light of a previous order given by the Supreme Court that the requirement of an Aadhaar Number shall be optional.5 The matter is currently pending with the Supreme Court of India.
Of critical importance, however, are the implications of the changes on the appointment of tribunals and the potential politicization of such future appointments. Increasing the role of the Government in such matters runs the risk of eroding the boundaries between the executive and the judiciary in particular.

Unencumbered and wide ranging powers given to tax officers and authorities under the Act could lead to the misuse of power, political witch hunts and the charges of tax terrorism, severely eroding confidence in institutional process.

Finally, introducing amendments merging and appointing tribunal members in the form of a money bill has raised eyebrows as to whether it was constitutional? Money bills are normally confined to the imposition and abolition of taxes and the use of moneys in the Consolidated Fund and Article 110 of the Constitution of India states that a money bill is a bill, which introduces the following:
  1. the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
  2. the regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India, or the amendment of the law with respect to any financial obligations undertaken or to be undertaken by the Government of India;
  3. the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such fund;
  4. the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
  5. the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;
  6. the receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State; or
  7. any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f).
While the term "incidental" in Article 110(1)(g) of the Constitution can be interpreted widely, can the merging of tribunals and changing the appointment of tribunal members be legitimately included in the foregoing provisions?
It could equally be argued that since government expenditure comes out of the Consolidated Fund, the merging of tribunals and the terms and conditions of appointments might therefore be legitimately amended through a money bill.
Either way, it is somewhat surprising that the Bill was not challenged on this point, and given that the Act is now in force, it remains to be seen whether any future constitutional challenge will arise.

Footnotes
1.http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/p24.htm
2.Madras Bar Association vs. Union of India (Transfer Case No. 150 of 2006). Supreme Court of India, September 25, 2014 (paragraph 89)
3. Section 182(2) of the Companies Act, 2013
4. Section 182(6) of the Companies Act, 2013
5. K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Ors. vs Union of India (UOI) and Ors. AIR2015SC3081
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

Do you have a Question or Comment?
Click here to email the Author
Interested in the next Webinar on this Topic?
Click here to register your Interest

Contributor
Ran Chakrabarti
IndusLaw

Email Firm
View Website
More from this Firm
More from this Author

Authors
Ran Chakrabarti
Anubha Sital
Shringarika Priyadarshini

More Popular Related Articles on Government, Public Sector from India
Defence FDI: The Truth Behind The Numbers
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co
On March 24, 2017, while responding to a question in Parliament, the Minister of State for Defence informed us that the FDI equity inflow for April 2013-December 2016 in the defence sector was 1 million USD.
The Viewpoint: Banking And Financial Sector – The Unconventional Budget
HSA Advocates
Due to demonetization, credit growth has hit an all-time-low of 5% and has resulted in substantial increase in the liquidity of the banks.
Key Changes In The Consolidated FDI Policy Of 2016
Khaitan & Co
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India recently released the new consolidated foreign direct investment (FDI) policy.
Govt Has Kept The Promise On Roads And Highways But Sector Needs More Funds
HSA Advocates
A priority target of the Union Budget of 2016-17 was to accelerate the growth of the highways segment, considering that the road sector has been ailing for the last lustrum and beyond.
Doctrine Of Legitimate Expectation: Overview
Singh & Associates
What is legitimate expectation? It is an expectation of a benefit, relief or remedy that may ordinarily flow from a promise or established practice.
Anti-Money Laundering Laws In India : A Brief Overview
Alaya Legal
The literal meaning of laundering is washing or cleaning dirty clothes.
Offset Policy In Defence Procurement: Recent Developments
LexCounsel Law Offices
The Offset Policy seems to be evolving in response to feedback and the needs of the industry as well as experience gained by the Government during its implementation phase.
Recent Liberalization Of FDI Policy – An Update
Phoenix Legal
Foreign investment, comprising, amongst others, of foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment, in India is regulated by the (Indian) Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999

IndusLaw: 12 employees in your network
powered by LinkedIn

In association with

Mondaq Advice Centre (MACs)
Investment Immigration
Insolvency and Restructuring
Arbitration, Litigation and Conciliation
More Advice Centers
Related Topics
Similar Topics

Government, Public Sector
Fiscal & Monetary Policy
Corporate/Commercial Law
Corporate and Company Law
Securities
Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Court Procedure
Related Articles
Recently Viewed

The Viewpoint: Banking And Financial Sector – The Unconventional Budget
HSA Advocates
Govt Has Kept The Promise On Roads And Highways But Sector Needs More Funds
HSA Advocates
India's 2017-18 Budget: 6 Key Points For Business
TMF Group
 India Budget 2017: Implications For International Business (Q & A) (Video)
Nishith Desai Associates
Budget 2017: Reform, Growth And Investment Opportunities In The Indian Education Sector
Nishith Desai Associates
Union Budget 2017
SKP Business Consulting LLP
SEZ Rules Relaxed To Allow Entry Of Foreign Accountants And Lawyers
S.S. Rana & Co. Advocates
Legality Of Demonetization Of Rs.500 And Rs.1000 Bank Notes
Singh & Associates
Demonetization Effects - Deposits In Bank Accounts - Proceeds Of Crime And The Honey Trap Of Money Laundering
Vaish Associates Advocates
Demonetisation Gives Rise To Another Opportunity To Come Clean!!!
Khaitan & Co
Related Video
 India Budget 2017: Implications For International Business (Q & A) (Video)
Nishith Desai Associates
 Round Table + Webinar India Budget 2016 (Mar 02, 2016) (Video Content)
Nishith Desai Associates
 Bloomberg Panel Discussion Video Budget 2016 (Video Content)
Nishith Desai Associates
View More Videos
Up-coming Events Search
Region / Country...WorldwideLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificAsiaEuropean UnionBrazilCanadaCyprusGermanyIrelandItalySouth KoreaLuxembourgNetherlandsPolandSingaporeSpainUKUnited States

Mondaq on Twitter
Follow @Mondaq
Follow @Government_Law
Free News Alert
Custom RSS Feed
Download on
iPhone & Android
Contact Us
|Your Privacy
|Feedback

© Mondaq® Ltd 1994 - 2017
All Rights Reserved




Register for Access and our Free Biweekly Alert for Government


This service is completely free. Access 250,000 archived articles from 100+ countries and get a personalised email twice a week covering developments (and yes, our lawyers like to think you’ve read our Disclaimer).

Forename
Surname

Email Address


Company Name


Password

Confirm Password

Position
CEO, Owner, Chairman, President, Mng Director
Director, Vice President, Senior Company Executive
Inhouse Counsel, Lawyer in Company/Government
CFO/FD, Inhouse Accountant, Treasurer
Corporate/Company Secretary, Compliance Officer
Lawyer in Law Firm, Private Practice, Barrister
Consultant, Accountant in Accountancy Firm, Practicing Accountant
Banker, Stockbroker, Analyst, Economist
Marketing, Business Development
Editor, Journalist, Researcher
IS/IT
Student, Academic
HR
Please Select Position

Mondaq Topics -- Select your Interests
 Accounting
 Anti-trust
 Commercial
 Compliance
 Consumer
 Criminal
 Employment
 Energy
 Environment
 Family
 Finance
 Government
 Healthcare
 Immigration
 Insolvency
 Insurance
 International
 IP
 Law Performance
 Law Practice
 Litigation
 Media & IT
 Privacy
 Real Estate
 Strategy
 Tax
 Technology
 Transport
 Wealth Mgt

Regions

Africa

Asia

Asia Pacific

Australasia


Canada

Caribbean

Europe

European Union


Latin America

Middle East

U.K.

United States

Worldwide Updates

Check to state you have read and
agree to our Terms and Conditions
Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement
Mondaq.com (the Website) is owned and managed by Mondaq Ltd and as a user you are granted a non-exclusive, revocable license to access the Website under its terms and conditions of use. Your use of the Website constitutes your agreement to the following terms and conditions of use. Mondaq Ltd may terminate your use of the Website if you are in breach of these terms and conditions or if Mondaq Ltd decides to terminate your license of use for whatever reason.
Use of www.mondaq.com
You may use the Website but are required to register as a user if you wish to read the full text of the content and articles available (the Content). You may not modify, publish, transmit, transfer or sell, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute, perform, link, display, or in any way exploit any of the Content, in whole or in part, except as expressly permitted in these terms & conditions or with the prior written consent of Mondaq Ltd. You may not use electronic or other means to extract details or information about Mondaq.com’s content, users or contributors in order to offer them any services or products which compete directly or indirectly with Mondaq Ltd’s services and products.
Disclaimer
Mondaq Ltd and/or its respective suppliers make no representations about the suitability of the information contained in the documents and related graphics published on this server for any purpose. All such documents and related graphics are provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Mondaq Ltd and/or its respective suppliers hereby disclaim all warranties and conditions with regard to this information, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Mondaq Ltd and/or its respective suppliers be liable for any special, indirect or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data or profits, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tortious action, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information available from this server.
The documents and related graphics published on this server could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. Mondaq Ltd and/or its respective suppliers may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described herein at any time.
Registration
Mondaq Ltd requires you to register and provide information that personally identifies you, including what sort of information you are interested in, for three primary purposes:
  • To allow you to personalize the Mondaq websites you are visiting.
  • To enable features such as password reminder, newsletter alerts, email a colleague, and linking from Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) to your website.
  • To produce demographic feedback for our information providers who provide information free for your use.
Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) do not sell or provide your details to third parties other than information providers. The reason we provide our information providers with this information is so that they can measure the response their articles are receiving and provide you with information about their products and services.
If you do not want us to provide your name and email address you may opt out by clicking here .
If you do not wish to receive any future announcements of products and services offered by Mondaq by clicking here .
Information Collection and Use
We require site users to register with Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) to view the free information on the site. We also collect information from our users at several different points on the websites: this is so that we can customise the sites according to individual usage, provide 'session-aware' functionality, and ensure that content is acquired and developed appropriately. This gives us an overall picture of our user profiles, which in turn shows to our Editorial Contributors the type of person they are reaching by posting articles on Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) – meaning more free content for registered users.
We are only able to provide the material on the Mondaq (and its affiliate sites) site free to site visitors because we can pass on information about the pages that users are viewing and the personal information users provide to us (e.g. email addresses) to reputable contributing firms such as law firms who author those pages. We do not sell or rent information to anyone else other than the authors of those pages, who may change from time to time. Should you wish us not to disclose your details to any of these parties, please tick the box above or tick the box marked "Opt out of Registration Information Disclosure" on the Your Profile page. We and our author organisations may only contact you via email or other means if you allow us to do so. Users can opt out of contact when they register on the site, or send an email to unsubscribe@mondaq.com with “no disclosure” in the subject heading
Mondaq News Alerts
In order to receive Mondaq News Alerts, users have to complete a separate registration form. This is a personalised service where users choose regions and topics of interest and we send it only to those users who have requested it. Users can stop receiving these Alerts by going to the Mondaq News Alerts page and deselecting all interest areas. In the same way users can amend their personal preferences to add or remove subject areas.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file written to a user’s hard drive that contains an identifying user number. The cookies do not contain any personal information about users. We use the cookie so users do not have to log in every time they use the service and the cookie will automatically expire if you do not visit the Mondaq website (or its affiliate sites) for 12 months. We also use the cookie to personalise a user's experience of the site (for example to show information specific to a user's region). As the Mondaq sites are fully personalised and cookies are essential to its core technology the site will function unpredictably with browsers that do not support cookies - or where cookies are disabled (in these circumstances we advise you to attempt to locate the information you require elsewhere on the web). However if you are concerned about the presence of a Mondaq cookie on your machine you can also choose to expire the cookie immediately (remove it) by selecting the 'Log Off' menu option as the last thing you do when you use the site.
Some of our business partners may use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers). However, we have no access to or control over these cookies and we are not aware of any at present that do so.
Log Files
We use IP addresses to analyse trends, administer the site, track movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.
Links
This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that Mondaq (or its affiliate sites) are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of these third party sites. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.
Surveys & Contests
From time-to-time our site requests information from users via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore has a choice whether or not to disclose any information requested. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and delivery address), and demographic information (such as postcode, age level). Contact information will be used to notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the functionality of the site.
Mail-A-Friend
If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask them for the friend’s name and email address. Mondaq stores this information and may contact the friend to invite them to register with Mondaq, but they will not be contacted more than once. The friend may contact Mondaq to request the removal of this information from our database.
Security
This website takes every reasonable precaution to protect our users’ information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected using firewalls and other security technology. If you have any questions about the security at our website, you can send an email to webmaster@mondaq.com.
Correcting/Updating Personal Information
If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as postcode), or if a user no longer desires our service, we will endeavour to provide a way to correct, update or remove that user’s personal data provided to us. This can usually be done at the “Your Profile” page or by sending an email to EditorialAdvisor@mondaq.com.
Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our Terms & Conditions or Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on our site so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users by way of an email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.
How to contact Mondaq
You can contact us with comments or queries at enquiries@mondaq.com.
If for some reason you believe Mondaq Ltd. has not adhered to these principles, please notify us by e-mail at problems@mondaq.com and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to determine and correct the problem promptly.




CLICK ON TITLE TO SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE - Posted by
Labels: