|
By Priyanka Chowdhury
The Trade Association of Information Technology (TAIT) has acquired the status of a legal arbitrator from April 1, 2009.
“TAIT can now function as a legal arbitration body and promote ethical business practices among members. It will act as a neutral mediator and provide out-of-court settlements to disputes like defaults, non-payment of back-ends, rebates and incentives, disputes between members, vendors, distributors and customers,” said Pravin Dhoka, Director, TAIT.
The association has intimated members that they can add a clause to their transaction documents stating that all disputes can be resolved by the TAIT legal arbitration department. “Henceforth, any decision taken by TAIT is legally binding. However, the discontent party has the option to challenge the decision in court within 90 days of the judgment,” informed Dhoka.
“After I received the intimation, I immediately asked my legal team to include the clause in all transaction documents such as invoices and purchase orders,” said Chetan Shah, Managing Director, Xpress Computer, and member of TAIT.
The association is planning to appoint a 10-member panel for its legal arbitration department that will consist of a senior advocate and nine members of the association. “We have already appointed advocate Rakesh Jain, and will soon appoint three members from the TAIT executive committee while the remaining six will be elected by members of the association,” said Dhoka.
Other associations are also thinking of applying for the license. “We have already applied for a legal arbitration license under the MSME Act, and will be receiving the license by the end of July,” said P N Prasad, President, Confed-ITA.
Added Pawan Jajodia, President, Compass, “TAIT has done a very good thing and has taken a step in the right direction to help its members. We will discuss it at our next meeting.” |