Nitin Nadkarni

Practice Areas

International Arbitration

Construction & Engineering

Infrastructure Projects

Energy & Natural Resources

Media

Income Tax & Customs Disputes

Professional Memberships

Chairman, Arbitration Sub-Committee of the Malaysian Bar Council (2015-2017, 2019-2024)

Court Member, ICC International Court of Arbitration (2024 – 2027)

Co-Chairman, Arbitration and Construction Law Sub-Committee of the Malaysian Bar Council (2017-2019)

Fellow, Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators

Panel Arbitrator, Asian International Arbitration Centre

Panel Arbitrator, International Chamber of Commerce Malaysia

Panel Arbitrator, Singapore International Arbitration Centre

Panel Arbitrator, China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission

Panel Arbitrator, Bangalore International Mediation, Arbitration & Conciliation Centre

Panel Arbitrator, Hainan International Arbitration Court

Panel Arbitrator, China Chongqing Arbitration Commission

Accredited Mediator, Malaysian Mediation Centre

Publications

Contributor — Malaysia Secures Arbitration Win In Rebuke To Alleged Sulu Heirs, ALB September Asia (2023)

General Editor — Spotlight on Current Malaysian Tax issues, LHAG (2020)

Contributor — Hishamudin Yunus: Celebrating Judicial Independence, LHAG (2018)

Contributor — The Legal 500 (Legalease): Construction, Country Comparative Guide (Malaysia)

Contributor — The Malaysian Civil Procedure 2013, 2015,2018 and 2021 by Sweet & Maxwell Asia

Contributor — Arbitration in Malaysia, A Practical Guide (2016, Sweet & Maxwell)

Contributor — Arbitration World, International Series (2016, Thomson Reuters)

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement: The Continued March of Private Justice? [2016] Law Review 574

Personal

A lawyer with a reputation for energy, construction, and tax disputes.

Nitin is a Consultant and Head of the Firm’s International Arbitration and Tax, Customs & Trade Practices. His main area of practice is in international arbitration, with a focus on oil & gas, energy, construction, engineering, and infrastructure projects. Nitin also handles income tax and customs litigation and disputes.

With over 38 years of experience, Nitin has represented major governmental organisations, multinational corporations, national and international contractors, sub-contractors, financial institutions, and high-profile individuals in arbitration, litigation, income tax, and customs disputes.

Nitin has acted as counsel, or sat as an arbitrator, in disputes arising from projects in, or arbitrations seated in, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, London, Switzerland, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Paris, and Algeria under ad hoc and institutional rules.

In the first case of its kind in Malaysia, he currently represents the Republic of Zimbabwe before the Malaysian courts, to resist applications by Swiss and German investors to enforce ICSID arbitration awards.

Nitin has also acted as counsel in benchmark income tax disputes on major points of tax law. Remarking that the Tax team has “demonstrated that they are up to date with developments in the law”, Chambers Asia-Pacific 2026 notably ranked Nitin as a “Band 3” practitioner in Tax Practice, as well as a “Band 1” practitioner in Construction practice. They have also noted that he is “experienced and well versed with legislation and points of law”, and his “depth of knowledge has consistently guided us through intricate GST matters and legal procedures with clarity and precision”.

He has been consistently ranked by Chambers & Partners as a leading lawyer (Band 1 from 2013-2025) who is very polished and sought-after, and by Asia-Pacific Legal 500 as a leading dispute resolution, and real estate, and construction lawyer, who is highly regarded for construction disputes. The Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2025 ranked Nitin as a “Leading Partner” in three categories (Dispute Resolution, Real Estate and Construction, and Tax). He has also been recognised as an “Elite Practitioner” by asialaw 2025 and as a “Litigation Star” for Construction by Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific 2025. Nitin has been recognised in Lexology’s Who’s Who Legal (WWL) 2024 in the field of Construction in Malaysia. At the 8th Asian Legal Business Malaysia Law Awards held virtually in July 2021, Nitin was named “Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year”, and at the Benchmark Litigation Asia-Pacific Awards 2023, Nitin was recognised as “Malaysia Lawyer of the Year”.

In its January-February 2022 issue, Asian Legal Business, a leading provider of legal news and information for legal professionals in the region, recognised Nitin as one of Asia’s Top 15 Litigators 2022. The second edition of the annual ranking highlights 15 of the region’s outstanding lawyers who have demonstrated their ability to solve complex problems and adapt quickly to changing circumstances, especially since the outbreak of Covid-19. Nitin is the only Malaysian lawyer in the list.

Work Highlights

Commercial

Counsel for the Republic of Zimbabwe to resist applications by Swiss and German investors to enforce ICSID arbitration awards before the Malaysian courts.

Counsel in an arbitration arising from the contamination of base oils.

Counsel for the owner in commercial disputes in relation to a seawater desalination plant.

Co-counsel in a Swiss arbitration in respect of claims exceeding Euro 60 million arising out of the breach of a logistics contract.

Counsel for the owner in an arbitration arising out of a defective wastewater treatment plant.

Counsel for hotel owners in a commercial arbitration in Singapore.

Counsel in series of telecommunications arbitrations in respect of the supply of a WiMax system.

Counsel in an arbitration claiming RM30 million on a fire insurance policy.

Counsel in a lawsuit for RM100 million against former directors of a listed company for fraud and breach of fiduciary duties.

Counsel in a lawsuit for newspaper claiming RM300 million against media survey company.

Counsel in an arbitration arising out of concession agreements related to KLIA.

Energy, Natural Resources & Utilities

Counsel in an arbitration involving disputes relating to the defective fabrication and workmanship of one of the largest integrated petrochemical facilities in Malaysia.

Counsel for various independent power producers in commercial arbitrations which have involved issues relating to, among others, the operation and maintenance of power stations, generation capacity payments under power purchase agreements (PPAs), and the operation, and maintenance of the Malaysian Grid System.

Advising on payment-related disputes in relation to commercial rates for Capacity Payments and Energy Payments, including adjustments to the Fixed Operating Rate and Variable Operating Rate, under various long-term power purchase agreements.

Advising the owner of one of the largest integrated petrochemical facilities and largest single construction project in Malaysia on all aspects of day-to-day legal risk management and dispute avoidance.

Counsel for the owner in disputes concerning construction and design defects in the boiler and auxiliary systems of a coal-fired power plant.

Construction

Counsel for the contractor in a billion-ringgit dispute arising out of a design-and-build contract in the Middle East.

Counsel in an arbitration for the contractor in a RM2 billion dispute involving the construction of mixed development project.

Counsel in an arbitration claim and counterclaim exceeding RM200 million arising out of the failure of reclamation works.

Counsel in an arbitration claim and counterclaim exceeding RM350 million arising out of the construction of a museum and resource centre.

Counsel in a lawsuit arising out from the construction of a marine jetty in Fujairah, UAE.

Counsel for an Australian main contractor in a RM100 million arbitration arising from the construction of the KLIA catering facility.

Counsel for a Japanese contractor in disputes with the owner concerning the construction of a luxury apartment block and an office tower in KL.

Counsel in an arbitration arising out of the construction of KLIA 2.

Advised on numerous work packages arising out of the construction of Malaysia’s Light Rail Transit 3.

As Arbitrator

Sole arbitrator in an international arbitration arising out of a failed commercial venture in Vietnam.

Sole arbitrator in a construction dispute arising out of the construction of an oil & gas facility.

Sole arbitrator in a dispute arising out of a government construction contract in relation to healthcare facilities.

Sole arbitrator in a dispute in relation to insurance policy for the construction, completion, and commissioning of a shopping complex.

Sole arbitrator in a commercial arbitration arising out of a contract for the maintenance of mechanical pipelines in Sabah and Sarawak.

Sole arbitrator in a dispute arising out of a government construction contract for infrastructural facilities in Sarawak.

Co-arbitrator in a dispute arising out of a sale and purchase agreement for acquisition of capital of a company.

Tax

Counsel for Transocean Drilling Sdn Bhd, the Malaysian entity of a global drilling company in a landmark dispute at the High Court on the DGIR’s powers to impose penalty under Section 112(3) of the ITA.

Represented the Swiss and Malaysian entities of a global software company in 2 separate judicial review proceedings at the High Court. The dispute concerns the definition of royalty in the Malaysian ITA and the Swiss-Malaysian DTA.

Counsel for a Big 4 consultancy, who were acting as the professional liquidators of a company. in a RM 113+ million dispute with the DGIR concerning the taxability of gains from disposal of property during liquidation.

Counsel for Transocean Drilling Sdn Bhd on the penalties imposed by DGIR. The issue turned on whether the DGIR could treat as null and void tax returns filed late.

Counsel for Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd on challenging assessments which disallowed the deduction of the operating expenditure incurred for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Project.