Daksha Baxi has come a long way in her career in international taxation practices, and now leads the direct tax practice at Khaitan & Co. She has been recognised by Asialaw Leading Lawyers, as a top international tax adviser for eight years in a row. Her work mainly involves improving the investment sentiment in India and building a leading tax practice.

After graduating in economics from the Manchester Metropolitan University, Baxi qualified as a chartered accountant and worked with a top firm in the UK. Thereafter, she headed the finance and tax operations of an international education trust based in Jersey and Switzerland. She returned to India in 1995 and has since been advising international clients on regulatory and taxation matters. In the course of her career, she has spoken and written about various tax aspects and structuring issues for investing in India. She also provides recommendations for policy initiatives to regulatory authorities and government departments.

Her most memorable assignments have been the ones based on transfer pricing. These include the Hutchison International case and the first tax controversy for the characterisation of income pertaining to computerised reservation systems and electronic purchase of reports by customers from foreign companies. Both these cases were regarding the complex tax issues faced in India and Baxi felt that these assignments were extremely challenging and fulfilling.

Talking about the litigation against telecom companies, she says she is pleased with the Bombay High Court’s decision on Vodafone. “The court has rightly held that the issuance of shares by an Indian firm to a foreign one is not a transaction resulting in income which attracts transfer pricing.”