India

Argus Partners is pleased to announce that it advised Vertical B of Lux Industries Limited ("Lux Industries") in connection with its Brand Licensing Agreement with RILUK IPCO Limited, the licensor of the Reebok brand in India, granting Lux Industries (Vertical B) the exclusive rights to manufacture, market and sell Reebok-branded men's and women's innerwear and thermal wear products in India.   The agreement further strengthens Lux Industries' portfolio of leading consumer brands.   The Argus Partners team advising Vertical B of Lux Industries comprised Arka Majumdar [Partner] and Milind Anand [Associate].   Reebok was represented by its in-house legal team.   Read more at: Business Standard

New Delhi, July 13th 2026: In a significant outcome for its client Thoughtsol Infotech Private Limited, King Stubb & Kasiva has secured a complete exoneration before the Competition Commission of India (the Commission), in a matter in which the Commission has penalised HP India Sales Private Limited ₹126.87 crore and penalised five other resellers. The proceedings arose out of Suo Moto Case No. 07 of 2020, initiated on a leniency application filed by HP India itself, alleging cartelisation between the OEM and its resellers in tenders floated on the Government e-Marketplace platform. The Director General returned findings of contravention against HP India and all ten of its resellers, including Thoughtsol. The position confronting the client was a difficult one. HP India had admitted the cartel in its leniency disclosures, in which Thoughtsol stood implicated. The defence advanced on Thoughtsol's behalf was that no agreement had been made out at all, as there was no consensus ad idem between the parties, and that the Director General had inferred concerted action from unilateral communications without examining what Thoughtsol had done in response to them. By its order dated 13 July 2026, a bench comprising Chairperson Ms. Ravneet Kaur and Members Mr. Anil Agrawal, Ms. Sweta Kakkad and Mr. Deepak Anurag accepted the submissions and held that Thoughtsol had quoted its prices independent of HP India, and that no case of contravention was established against it. The order carries wider significance. The Commission rejected the vertical relationship defence run by almost every reseller in the matter, holding that once an OEM and its reseller both bid in the same tender, they step into the shoes of competitors. For OEM channel partners across the public procurement sector, routine transfer price and authorisation correspondence now falls to be assessed on an entirely different footing. Statement from the Legal Team "The Commission's findings confirm what we argued throughout, which is that an inference of collusion cannot be drawn from correspondence alone. What a party does with a communication matter far more than the fact that it received one. Our client priced its bids independently, and the record bore that out." Appearances Senior Counsel Mr. Vaibhav Gaggar appeared on behalf of Thoughtsol Infotech Private Limited and successfully advanced the case before the Commission. The matter was led and strategically handled by Aniket Ghosh, Partner at King Stubb & Kasiva, along Sarthak Miglani from the firm's Competition Law team.

Hammurabi & Solomon Partners is pleased to announce the onboarding of Ms. Amrita Pandey as Partner, marking a significant step in the Firm's strategic expansion into Kolkata. Her appointment strengthens the Firm's Dispute Resolution practice while establishing a stronger foothold in Eastern India, enabling it to better serve clients across the region through an enhanced local presence. Amrita brings over 16 years of extensive experience in litigation, dispute resolution, and regulatory advisory. She has built a distinguished practice representing clients before the Hon'ble Calcutta High Court, National Green Tribunal (NGT), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Labour Courts, Industrial Tribunals, and various judicial and quasi-judicial forums. Her areas of expertise include civil and constitutional law, maritime law, service law, criminal prosecutions, appellate and execution proceedings, and industrial disputes. Amrita has also represented and advised Government departments, Government agencies, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and statutory authorities in complex legal and regulatory matters, bringing with her extensive experience in handling high-stake litigation involving public sector entities. Expressing her thoughts on joining the Firm, Ms. Amrita Pandey shared: "I am delighted to join Hammurabi & Solomon Partners. The Firm has built a formidable reputation for delivering exceptional legal solutions across diverse practice areas and jurisdictions. I look forward to contributing to the Firm's expanding dispute resolution practice while strengthening its presence in Kolkata and the Eastern region. Together, we aim to provide clients with strategic, solution-oriented legal counsel backed by deep domain expertise and a collaborative approach." Welcoming her to the Firm, Ms. Shweta Bharti, Managing Partner at Hammurabi & Solomon Partners, remarked: "We are delighted to welcome Amrita to the Firm. Her extensive litigation experience, particularly across constitutional, commercial, and government-related matters, significantly strengthens our dispute resolution capabilities. Equally important, her joining marks a key milestone in our expansion strategy as we strengthen our presence in Kolkata. We are confident that her leadership and regional expertise will enable us to better serve our clients in Eastern India while further enhancing the Firm's national footprint." Ms. Amrita Pandey's onboarding marks another significant milestone for Hammurabi & Solomon Partners as the Firm continues its strategic growth, expanding its leadership strength to a 19-Partner firm while establishing its presence across a total of 9 offices in India. This expansion further strengthens the Firm's Pan-India capabilities, reinforcing its commitment to delivering seamless, high-quality legal solutions and trusted counsel to clients across jurisdictions.

The labour law framework previously implemented in India has been regarded as one of the most complex regulatory systems. Employers operating in the country have historically been required to comply with a network of 29 central labour laws, each dealing with different aspects of employment. Recognizing the need for reform, the Government of India consolidated 29 labour laws into 4 comprehensive labour codes in order to simplify compliance, promote ease of doing business, improve labour market flexibility, and strengthen worker protections through a unified legislative framework. With the transition from 29 labour laws to 4 labour codes, employers are required to now reassess their employment practices, compensation structures, workplace policies, and compliance mechanisms to align with the new legislations. Understanding India’s New Labour Code Framework: The labour codes introduced by the Government of India repeal and replace the previous 29 central labour laws and were created to streamlined regulatory structure governing employment in India. The Code on Wages, 2019 (“Wage Code”) consolidates four existing laws relating to wage regulation, including the Payment of Wages Act, the Minimum Wages Act, the Payment of Bonus Act, and the Equal Remuneration Act. The objective of the Code is to establish a uniform framework governing wage payments, minimum wages, bonus entitlements, and equal remuneration obligations. One of the most significant changes introduced by the Code is the standardized definition of “wages” which has substantial implications for employee compensation structures and statutory benefit calculations. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (“IR Code”) combines provisions previously contained in the Trade Unions Act, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, and the Industrial Disputes Act. The Code seeks to regulate industrial relations, trade union recognition, dispute resolution mechanisms, layoffs, retrenchments, and closures of establishments. The Code on Social Security, 2020 (“SS Code”) consolidates various social welfare legislations relating to provident fund contributions, employee state insurance, gratuity, maternity benefits, and employee compensation. Notably, the Code expands the concept of social security by creating enabling provisions for gig workers, platform workers, and workers engaged in emerging forms of employment relationships. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (“OSH Code”) merges several laws governing workplace safety and employee welfare. The Code establishes a comprehensive framework regulating health and safety standards, working conditions, welfare facilities, inspections, and employer obligations across a wide range of establishments. Although the labour codes are intended to simplify compliance, many employers are discovering that the reforms require significant adjustments to existing employment practices and internal governance systems. The most widely discussed change is in relation to the revised definition of wages under the Wage Code. Under the new framework, employers will have significantly less flexibility in structuring salary components through allowances and other exclusions. Broadly, where the excluded components of an employee’s remuneration exceed the prescribed threshold, the excess amount may be required to be added back to “wages” for the purposes of compliance. In effect, the law contemplates that wages should ordinarily constitute at least 50% of an employee’s total remuneration, subject to the exclusions specifically permitted under the Wage Code. As a result, employers who currently have salary structures with a high proportion of allowances may be required to restructure compensation packages to ensure compliance. Since several statutory benefits and contributions, including provident fund contributions, gratuity, bonus, retrenchment compensation and other wage-linked entitlements, are computed with reference to wages, an increase in the wage component may correspondingly increase an employer’s statutory financial obligations. Aligning the Internal Compliance Framework with Labour Codes A practical starting point for employers is to undertake a comprehensive labour law compliance review well before the labour codes are brought into force in the relevant State. Businesses should first assess the applicability of each of the four labour codes based on the nature of their establishment, employee strength, and industry-specific operations. Existing employment agreements, HR manuals, standing orders, leave policies, disciplinary procedures, wage structures, and internal compliance frameworks should be reviewed and updated to align with the new statutory requirements. Particular attention should also be paid to the revised definition of wages, as any necessary restructuring of salary components may have a direct impact on statutory contributions and employee benefits. Employers should also ensure that the requisite registrations, licences and electronic records prescribed under the new regime are in place. The labour codes seek to consolidate several existing registrations into common registration and licensing mechanisms while also promoting digitised compliance through electronic maintenance of registers, filing of statutory returns and online inspections. From a workplace governance perspective, employers should revisit their policies relating to working hours, overtime, leave, health and safety, disciplinary procedures, and employee welfare measures. The OSH Code introduces enhanced obligations concerning workplace safety, health standards, welfare facilities, annual health check-ups for specified categories of employees, reporting of accidents and dangerous occurrences, and maintenance of prescribed records. Establishments should therefore evaluate whether their existing operational practices, safety protocols and vendor management processes are sufficient to meet the enhanced compliance requirements under the new regime. Legal Challenges One of the principal legal challenges arising from the labour codes is the absence of uniform implementation across the country. Although the Central Government has notified the labour codes and the corresponding Central Rules, several States are yet to notify or operationalise their respective rules. Since labour is a subject falling within the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India, employers operating across multiple States may be required to comply with different procedural requirements depending upon the stage of implementation in each jurisdiction. This transitional phase creates uncertainty regarding the applicable compliance framework and requires businesses to continuously monitor regulatory developments at both the Central and State levels before implementing organisation-wide policy changes. Another significant challenge lies in interpreting and implementing several provisions introduced under the new framework. While the labour codes seek to consolidate existing legislations, certain concepts continue to require judicial interpretation and practical clarification, particularly in relation to the revised definition of wages, classification of employees and workers, engagement of fixed-term employees and contract labour, and the interaction between the labour codes and State-specific legislations such as the Shops and Establishments Acts. Strategic Considerations for Businesses The labour codes are more than a legislative consolidation exercise, they represent a broader shift toward modernizing India’s employment law ecosystem. Labour code compliance should not be viewed as a one-time documentation exercise but as an ongoing governance function. Employers must conduct periodic compliance audits and continuously monitor notifications issued by the Central and State Governments regarding the phased implementation of the labour codes and the corresponding rules. Since several operational requirements will ultimately depend upon the rules notified by individual States, organisations operating across multiple jurisdictions should also adopt a state-specific compliance strategy to ensure that their employment practices remain legally compliant across all locations. Given the complexity of the reforms and the evolving nature of implementation, legal advisors can assist with reviewing employment documentation, restructuring compensation frameworks, conducting labour law audits, addressing industrial relations issues, and ensuring compliance with both central and state-level requirements. Conclusion India’s transition from 29 labour laws to 4 labour codes marks a transformative moment in the country’s employment law landscape. While the reforms aim to simplify compliance and improve ease of doing business, they also introduce substantial changes affecting wages, social security, industrial relations, workplace safety, and employee welfare. As implementation continues to evolve, a strategic and legally informed approach to compliance will be essential for organizations seeking to thrive under India's new labour law regime. FAQ 1: What are the 4 labour codes in India? India has replaced 29 central labour laws with four codes, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the OSH Code, 2020. Everything from wages to workplace safety now sits under these four laws, which makes them the starting point for anyone dealing with employment law in India. FAQ 2: How do the labour codes change salary structures? The big change is the new meaning of "wages." Put simply, at least half of what you pay an employee should count as wages. If allowances go beyond the permitted limit, the extra amount gets pulled back into wages anyway. That pushes up PF, gratuity, and bonus payouts, which is why so many companies are relooking at their pay structures right now. FAQ 3: Are the labour codes applicable across all Indian states? Not everywhere, no. The Centre has notified the codes, but many states haven't finalised their rules yet. Labour is a Concurrent List subject, so each state moves at its own pace. If you have offices in more than one state, you'll need to keep an eye on where each government stands before changing any policies. FAQ 4: How can employment law services help with labour code compliance? A lot of the heavy lifting, checking contracts, fixing salary structures, updating HR policies, running audits, is exactly what employment law services are meant for. And since the rules keep shifting state by state, having someone who tracks these changes for you saves both time and costly missteps. Author: Ms. Shreyika Walia – Senior Associate