REENA ASTHANA KHAIR JOINS KOCHHAR & CO. AS SENIOR PARTNER TO BOLSTER THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDIRECT TAX LITIGATION PRACTICE
Giving formal colour to a long-standing professional relationship with Kochhar & Co. (‘Firm’), Ms. Reena Asthana Khair, along with a team of two associates, has recently joined the Delhi Office of the Firm as a Senior Partner and Head of the International Trade & Indirect Tax practice. One of India’s leading legal luminaries in the highly specialized areas of International Trade Defence and Indirect Taxation, Ms. Khair brings niche and unparalleled expertise to the Firm. She has argued, led and successfully procured favourable orders/relief in the most high-profile matters in India relating to WTO trade remedies (such as anti-dumping, safeguard and anti-subsidy proceedings) and Indirect Taxation.
Mr. Rohit Kochhar, Founding Member and Chairman of Kochhar & Co. extended a warm welcome, and said: “Reena’s experience is unmatched in the field of contentious matters pertaining to indirect taxation and trade remedies. Several cases argued by her have resulted in landmark judgments on interpretation of terms, classification of goods and evolution of laws in the areas of customs, and anti-dumping. It is a matter of pride for us to have Reena as part of the Kochhar law firm, and we are looking forward to her continuing leadership in advising and representing clients on complex issues of classification, valuation and origin.”
Ms. Khair has represented over 200 clients, including renowned Multi-National Corporations and Public Sector Enterprises, before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal, other appellate forums, as well as various High Courts and the Supreme Court. Her key areas of in-depth expertise include classification of goods under the Harmonized System Nomenclature, valuation, transitional credit under GST, refund of ITC, zero-rated supply, intermediary, Drawback, Export Promotion Schemes, EOUs, SEZs, disputes on what constitutes ‘Import’, and exemptions issued under various statutes. She has also been involved in high-profile investigations conducted by government authorities in multiple jurisdictions.
Ms. Khair conveyed that she is all set for a larger role with the following message: “ I’ve known key partners at Kochhar & Co. for a long time now. We’ve worked together on some really challenging matters and it’s been a very rewarding experience for me. Now, as part of Kochhar & Co. apart from continuing to make the International Trade & Indirect Taxation litigation practice more robust, I also hope to further strengthen the Firm’s advisory practice in these areas. With several cross-border economic challenges ahead of us, I hope to continue to assist clients on complex issues relating to management audits, compliance review, adoption of best industry practices and identification of problem areas to pre-empt disputes. A large part of my practice entails representing large corporates on modification of practices and transactions, something that is much required in the present circumstances.”
With Ms. Khair on-board, Kochhar & Co. now has over 50 Partners. Kochhar & Co. is one of the leading and largest corporate law firms in India, with a full-service presence in the six (6) prominent Indian cities including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon and Hyderabad; and three overseas offices- in Dubai, Singapore and Atlanta.
