Sunil Sethi & Co.
Advocates and Tax Consultants
Embedded Files
Practices
Helping businesses meet tomorrow’s digital tax challenges
Benjamin Franklin rightly said, "In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes". We're entering an era of Real-Time Compliance, with digital reporting and e-invoicing transforming the way tax functions operate globally. Increased and faster compliance requirements everywhere mean that 'manual,' 'ad-hoc,' and 'after-the-fact' tax work are becoming unsustainable. Amid this turmoil, our role is to help global businesses discover how modern tax technology can enable them to transition towards a low-to-no-touch tax lifecycle. We empower global tax function teams in preparing for the future of tax by embracing real-time analytics and predictive intelligence to drive business value. Additionally, we focus on finding and hiring the best current and future talent in tax technology to help build innovative solutions.
Our world is in a state of flux, complicated further by regulatory intricacies and economic risk. The world around us has changed dramatically in recent years, with geopolitical shifts, and technological innovation; globalization, on the one hand, and protectionism, on the other. But the underlying reality of taxation remains the same, each government wants to tax any business activity within its borders. This rationale for the global minimum tax, spearheaded by the OECD and G20, requires governments of 139 countries to hit any undertaxed firms including those delivering tax digital services, with top-up levies leaving several MNCs which bestride through a network of global subsidiaries vulnerable to taxation. Multinational companies, primed to fight every little tax increase are sensitised on the economic peace deal on the grounds that a global minimum tax of 15% would not do much damage to their bottom lines - and would certainly be far less harmful than endless clashes between countries that layer taxes on top of tariffs.
Rules beget rules, the proliferation of red tape reflects how the world is changing. After the global financial crisis dented faith in capitalism, trust in free markets waned, leading to more regulation as wealthier voters sought protection as they had more to lose and have called on governments to protect their backyards and their nest eggs. The trouble is that even as particular groups benefit from each rule, society at large bears its costs. Regulators are constantly finding new things to regulate. Proposals to dig mines, even for the metals needed for the energy transition, or invest in infrastructure suffer cost overruns and delays as they contend with endless judicial reviews and spend nearly a decade in permitting hell. Over-regulation most hurts small businesses, which lack compliance departments, deterring innovative newcomers from setting up shops. Incumbents, meanwhile, feel less incentive to invest because they know they are sheltered. Lumbered by regulation and annoyed populations, economic growth and productivity have slowed to a crawl. That is why deregulation has been at the forefront recently, globally. A look at history suggests that deregulation can be a magic potion which peps up the animal spirits in people and fosters economic growth. Leaders, across the world, are trying to slash red tape for economic growth, the challenge is balancing bold reforms with essential governance.
A tax or Attacks, a profound shift in the modern tax landscape has turned taxpayers into accidental agents of government inefficiency. Governments, often petitioned by interest groups, find it convenient to offload the cost of compliance onto others, inadvertently expanding the scope of the social contract theory. This transition, driven by the rise of self-assessment and tax withholding, encapsulates a striking paradox: "Taxpayers tasked with remitting taxes now shoulder the complexities of compliance and bear the penalties for minor errors—without any additional reward". Today compliance isn’t optional—it’s foundational. Tax is about much more than just numbers, it’s about addressing challenges and laying strong foundations for future aspirations. Taking shortcuts or compromising legal soundness today could cost a business more than just reputation tomorrow. In an era where global tax obligations are intensifying, effective compliance has become a paramount challenge for businesses. This development underscores a broader issue facing contemporary tax systems: the struggle to balance efficiency with accuracy. Further, as government spending rises, India’s tax officials, under pressure to meet collection targets, have resorted to aggressive enforcement aided by AI-enabled analytics and risk-management tools that scrape the Indian digital public infrastructure. Evident by a surge in tax notices and disproportionate assessments. This has undermined the country's tax stability, with businesses and individuals increasingly targeted by high-pitched demands. Such overzealous enforcement actions, driven by coffer-filling anxiety, particularly towards corporations, suggest a push for revenue maximization at the expense of investor confidence, potentially destabilizing India’s economic and investment climate. To mitigate this, fostering voluntary compliance and curbing adversarial tax practices, including actions based on technical violations and interpretative disputes, must be prioritized to avoid further disruption and excessive tax demands. India’s impact on the global economy has been growing at an exponential rate. These factors are not only driving tax reforms, abolishing public offices and regulatory change ('process-reforms') but also creating new business opportunities, shaping consumer demands, and fostering the emergence of previously unseen business models.
These shifts bring complexities and pressures, felt even more acutely amid geopolitical stress. We understand the pivotal role taxes play in navigating this new reality. We operate not only as technical specialists but also as trusted advisors to your business and board as you work to protect the organization, boost performance, drive digital transformation, and contribute to its sustainability goals. Our well-blended team of experienced and dynamic professionals specializes in a wide range of tax laws—be it compliance, litigation, consultancy, or advisory on critical issues—enabling today’s leaders to navigate the dynamic tax environment.
Staying compliant isn’t just about avoiding interest and penalties; it’s about demonstrating that your enterprise is run with foresight, discipline, and a healthy respect for regulatory acronyms. Frankly, return forms may be just documents, but timely filing is a signal—of readiness and professionalism.
SSC takes a bold leap towards an AI-First Future with Strategic AI Adoption
A significant step in its innovation journey by adopting several cutting-edge AI-enabled technologies across both its legal and business services functions. The Firm has strategically selected Harvey (on a pilot basis) and Lucio to empower its lawyers with AI-driven capabilities, and also Copilot and ChatGPT Plus to redefine business operations—cementing SSC’s position at the forefront of AI transformation in the legal industry. This combination of four cutting-edge tools will drive the Firm’s initial AI-first strategy. This milestone coincides with SSC’s 40-year anniversary in its new avatar, marking a decade of innovation and excellence while building upon a 100+ year legacy of being a progressive, forward-thinking firm that consistently stays ahead of the curve. SSC was an early adopter of generative AI and has actively explored AI’s potential since 2016 using CaseText (now CoCounsel). With the rapid evolution of Generative AI, the Firm is now moving rapidly towards embedding AI across several aspects of its operations.
The initial use cases will iteratively include due diligence, cross-verification of facts, litigation support, preparation of initial drafts and legal research. The Firm’s Business Services team will use the said tools for knowledge management, business development assistance, human resource deployment and financial analysis. After the initial deployment, the Firm will strongly partner with AI providers to prepare customised solutions for SSC.
This is just the beginning. As SSC embarks on this new phase, the Firm envisions a future where AI empowers all its professionals at every level, creating unprecedented opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and client service excellence. The firm remains dedicated to continuously evolving and investing in AI and other emerging technologies to help businesses meet tomorrow’s digital tax challenges today.
We transform your current state of tax to the next generation of tax functions
The success of our taxation practice is based on our market awareness and commercial acumen, combined with our rapport with Indian regulators. This enables us to provide suitable risk analysis, examine the impact on business decisions and ensure that the structure envisaged is defendable, both through appropriate drafting and practical implementation. The hallmark of our practice lies in our ability to get on board quickly, with a proactive and pragmatic approach and recognise the commercial needs of the client. This ensures quality advice across sectors and structures, including new-age businesses and uncharted, first-time transactions coming up in the face of changing financial engineering. Our Taxation team has deep experience in structuring all kinds of transactions and reorganisations, ESOPs, double taxation avoidance agreements, permanent establishment advisory, tax litigation, comparative analysis for choice of jurisdiction for investment into or establishing a presence in India and advisory on a broad range of direct and indirect tax matters. Known for our expertise and ability to guide domestic and international clients in a legally sound yet practical and efficient manner, we set the standard for both direct and indirect tax matters.
In the intricate dance of compliance and risk management, modern tax operations rely on advanced technological solutions to keep pace with evolving fiscal landscapes. An arsenal of software tools, categorized by their specific uses, now powers global tax functions, ensuring efficiency and precision. For specialized tax compliance and multi-jurisdictional reporting, businesses turn to dedicated tools. As tax functions evolve, data analytics and process automation are indispensable. Our team of professionals offers retainership services for tax compliance and enables configuration of tax-efficient business models and is well-versed in leading tax software solutions.
At the foundation of integrated tax management lie ERP systems that unify financial and operational workflows. Enterprise platforms like NetSuite, SAP, Reuters and Oracle have emerged as indispensable tools, integrating tax compliance with broader financial and operational workflows. NetSuite’s cloud-based versatility supports centralized financial oversight, while SAP’s comprehensive modules—ranging from FICO to S/4HANA Finance—offer global reporting and compliance solutions. Oracle’s tax-specific tools, such as TRCS and Hyperion Tax Provision, facilitate advanced scenario modelling and predictive planning, ensuring businesses remain agile amidst complex tax demands. Infor and Workday further complement these systems by delivering industry-specific functionality and workforce-driven financial planning, respectively.
The role of data-driven insights in modern tax management is underscored by the adoption of business intelligence tools like Power BI and Power Query, which offer advanced data visualization capabilities for tax scenario analysis. Alteryx automates tax data workflows,nciliation, ensuring reporting accuracy and compliance with evolving regulations. Procurement platforms such as SAP Ariba and Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP extend the reach of tax technology into supply chain management, aligning procurement processes with tax obligations. Supporting this are tools like OpenText and ReadSoft, which digitize documents and automate invoices, making compliance more efficient and transparent.
We help clients with NetSuite functionality, INFOR, Mercury, Taxprep, SharePoint, Longview Tax, WIP, GoSystems, CCH Tax, Workday, SAP (FICO, S/4HANA Finance, GRC, Tax Declaration Framework), and Oracle (TRCS and Hyperion Tax Provision) Blackline, Alteryx, Power BI, Power Query. These cloud-based SaaS ERP technologies support global tax function teams by streamlining compliance, minimizing risk, and optimizing efficiency. Complementing these platforms are specialized tax software solutions, such as ONESOURCE Indirect Tax (formerly Sabrix), Taxware Enterprise, Vertex O-Series, Avalara, SOVOS, Taxware and indirect tax platforms like SAP Ariba, Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP, Coupa, Hybris, OpenText, and ReadSoft. Together, these tools enable robust tax compliance, tax scenario modelling, risk management, forecasting, and reporting solutions that further enhance integration and efficiency—delivering comprehensive tax management tailored to diverse organizational needs.
Domestic tax software remains a cornerstone for domestic enterprises, addressing region-specific compliance needs with simplicity and reliability. Solutions like Tally, CompuOffice, Zoho, Genius, and Webtel are particularly popular in India, where they enable businesses to navigate the intricacies of domestic regulations seamlessly. Together, these platforms create a robust ecosystem, empowering tax functions to evolve from cost centers to strategic enablers of growth and efficiency.
The integration of these advanced technologies marks a transformative shift in how businesses approach tax functions. By adopting comprehensive ERP systems, specialized compliance tools, and localized software, organizations not only enhance operational efficiency but also mitigate risks and foster resilience in an ever-changing fiscal environment. This strategic utilization of tax technology underscores its role as an essential asset for navigating today’s complex tax landscape, turning compliance into a competitive advantage. At SSC, we provide expertise in implementing these solutions at the corporate level, optimizing tax and financial workflows to help businesses stay ahead in today’s dynamic tax environment.
SSC's Tax and Legal Services helps to cut through the noise and stay ahead of the changes that impact your business.
Increasingly complex tax decisions can have a significant effect—positive or negative—on the future of our clients’ business. Our approach combines insight and innovation from multiple disciplines with business and industry knowledge to help our client’s excel globally. At SSC, we are leading clients through the tax transformation taking place in the marketplace. We offer a broad range of fully integrated tax services and add greater impact to clients by combining technology and tax technical resources to uncover insights and smarter solutions for navigating an increasingly complex global environment. Tax Technology Consulting (TTC) - Ever-expanding regulations and increasing scrutiny on multinational corporations have made it necessary for leading-edge tax departments to serve a critical role in the risk management and overall performance of the enterprise. This has resulted in an opportunity for SSC to provide even greater value through our tax services, in helping develop tax departments of the future that are strategic, agile, and, above all, focused on creating value for the business. ■
Taxes is our core area of practice for which the firm is structured into Three distinct SBUs:
SSC Corp
Direct Taxation (TRS)
Indirect Taxation (SALT)
Business Support (RTR, FP&A)
Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
Project Finance
Corporate Governance
Intellectual Property (IP)
New-Age, Startups, AIF, VC, PE
Private Client
SSC Lex
Insolvency & Bankruptcy
Competition/Antitrust
Arbitration
Litigation
White Collar/Investigations
SSC Cap
Capital Markets
Debt Markets
Investment Funds
Financial Regulatory
Real Estate
Astute Investment Strategy
Regulations issued by the Bar Council of India (BCI) preclude the firm from providing information about its practice areas and expertise. Being mindful of our professional ethics, the content below conforms to the prescribed regulations. "Legal practice area by advocates as quintessential officers of the Court" has been carefully restricted and mentions only the services undertaken in other capacities. Further, the practice areas mentioned are in conformity with the limitations imposed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). Directions of the Delhi chapter of The Chamber of Tax Consultants (CTC) are also followed with respect to professional disclosure norms.
Our 40+ years of experience accords us the ability to arrive at tax positions
even in the absence of judicial precedents.
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