India: Contracts and Commercial Law

The CCI examined allegations filed by an authorised dealer of Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. (Nissan) in South Delhi and Faridabad, against Nissan under Sections 3 and 4 of the Act wherein, dealer was operating dealership since 2024 and had invested over INR 10 crore in infrastructure, machinery, inventory, and manpower. However, Nissan arbitrarily terminated the agreement without issuing a show cause notice, providing reasons, or offering a hearing.

For most growing businesses, yes. Virtual in-house counsel gives you experienced legal support on a flexible basis, without the fixed salary, recruitment cycle or long notice period that comes with a permanent hire. Entry-level in-house counsel salaries in India now average around INR 18. lakh a year and that figure climbs well past a crore at senior levels once bonuses and equity are added.

Novation has existed in Indian over the counter ("OTC") derivative markets for years, but as derivative volumes and market maker turnover grew, the absence of a comprehensive framework spanning asset classes became a genuine gap. In July 2025, the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") released a draft titled "Reserve Bank of India (Novation of OTC Derivative Contracts) Directions, 2025", seeking to close this gap through a unified set of directions. After consultation with various stakeholders, RBI finalised the framework on 22 September 2026, but abandoned the standalone Directions format.

The September 2026 edition of Fox & Mandal's newsletter examines MCA’s FAQs on foreign company registration; proposed amendments to the NBFC credit facilities framework; expansion of OBPP offerings; operationalisation of FDI in inventory-based cross-border e-commerce; Demat 2.0 for tokenisation of corporate bonds; NHAI Policy Circular on real-time blacklisting and non-performance records; and other changes in India's corporate, capital markets, infrastructure, and banking sectors.

Business contracts define commercial relationships, but even carefully negotiated agreements can become sources of disputes over payments, deliverables, termination, or interpretation of terms. Understanding common contractual pitfalls and implementing proper documentation practices can help businesses protect their interests and reduce the risk of costly disagreements.

A growing business needs corporate legal services that bring together compliance management, contract lifecycle support, regulatory audits and ongoing risk advice under one roof, rather than piecing it together from separate lawyers, spreadsheets and last-minute fixes. According to a 2026 LegalZoom survey, 33% of small business owners say compliance requirements have already stopped them pursuing new opportunities such as expansion, partnerships or new product launches.

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), together with the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 notified in November 2025, has reshaped how organisations manage personal data. A core principle is that the Data Fiduciary remains fully accountable even when personal data is shared with or processed by vendors and other third parties.

The emergence of blockchain technology has given rise to a new era in contractual relationships through the advent of smart contracts. These self‐executing digital instruments, governed by code on a decentralized ledger, promise efficiency, transparency, and security. Yet, their integration into traditional legal frameworks raises critical issues concerning enforceability, interpretation, and dispute resolution.

Businesses increasingly rely on external service providers to store, analyse and manage personal information, making data processing agreements essential for modern privacy governance. Under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, these contracts define how service providers may handle personal data and establish responsibilities around security, confidentiality, incidents, sub-processors and deletion.