The Hindu Undivided Family in Independent India’s Corporate Governance and Tax Regime

Abstract

Social science has had a very limited engagement with the socio-legal entity of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF). In corporate and personal law—the two spaces it inhabits—it has been largely regarded as separate and distinct entity from “modern” tax and corporate governance entities like individuals and body incorporates. It is often referred to as an archaic remnant associated with feudal structures of land and property holdings. Its implications on capital accumulation in the “modern” structures of corporate governance and tax structures have not been studied at all. This paper is an attempt to arrive at a comprehensive delineation of the role of the HUF in the corporate governance and taxation regime in independent India.