Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and Turkey discriminate against U.S. companies and are inconsistent with international tax principles, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Wednesday, paving the way for potential retaliatory tariffs, Reuters reported.

Indian courts may rule in coming months on cases involving billions of dollars in distressed assets, and the decisions could clarify what roles banks play in helping companies devastated by the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. What may be among the first of the verdicts could also be one of the most important: the Supreme Court may decide within weeks on requests by big borrowers seeking relief on repayments and defaults, in what’s being called the loan moratorium case.

Around a dozen large borrowers have applied for the RBI’s loan restructuring scheme for those affected by COVID stress. The deadline for corporates and invididuals to make an application under the RBI's resolution framework for COVID-related stress ended on December 31. For small businesses, there is a separate restructuring scheme that will be valid until March 2021. The Future Group, Shaporrji Pallonji Group and SpiceJet are among those who will apply for loan restructuring.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has adapted itself to the new environment in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and will strive to provide a "malleable regulatory framework" within the confines of the insolvency law, according to its Chairperson MS Sahoo, BloombergQuint reported. A key institution in implementing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the IBBI has moved to the electronic mode for most of its engagements with stakeholders and has recalibrated important regulations amid the pandemic.

India is set to swing from being a cautious spender in 2020 to opening the fiscal floodgates as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to pull Asia’s third-biggest economy back from the worst of the pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Curbs imposed by the finance ministry on more than 80 government departments and ministries earlier in the year to preserve cash were relaxed this quarter. In addition, this year’s budget will be increased from its current 30 trillion rupees ($407 billion) when new spending plans are announced Feb.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government is planning to extend the suspension of fresh insolvency proceedings for another three months, a move which will provide major relief to corporate borrowers hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Deccan Herald reported. Addressing the Bangalore Chamber Of Industry And Commerce (BCIC), she said the government has taken several measures, including deferment of tax payment date, to help businesses and people.

Indian stocks fell, taking a sudden plunge about one hour ahead of the close as investors assessed the latest coronavirus outbreaks as well as a new lockdown in the U.K, Bloomberg News reported. The S&P BSE Sensex closed down 3% to 45,553.96, the biggest decline since May, with all stocks in the red. Reliance Industries and utilities were the biggest contributor to the losses with the oil refiner down 2.6%. Meanwhile, a broader gauge of about 200 stocks that includes mid caps tumbled 3.4%, the most since May.