While the SEBI issued a further circular in 2010 stating that a consolidation or merger should not be seen as a change in the fundamental attributes of the surviving schemes if some conditions are met, the absence of an income-tax neutrality and the STT levy are dampeners which should be removed. It may be noted that tax laws do provide for such neutrality to shareholders in case of merger of companies. Undertaking such an analysis will help AMCs in deciding whether they should merge certain schemes, unwind them or close them This will, in turn, help the fund management team focus on fewer larger schemes.
