3.2 Doctrine of Lifting the Corporate Veil

The veil: the personality's screen between the company and its members — the law's ordinary respect for the Salomon line. The lifting (piercing): the exceptional cases where the court or statute looks behind the screen to the real persons — the doctrine's justification (the personality is for honest enterprise, not a fraud's shield). The recognised grounds (the exam's list): (1) fraud or improper conduct (the company as a facade for wrongdoing); (2) the sham or agency cases (the company as the member's alter ego — the puppet company); (3) the revenue-and-protective statutes (the tax and regulatory laws' targeting of the real actors); (4) the guarantee's own door — a member who personally guarantees the company's debt cannot hide behind limited liability (the guarantee cases' line — Kamala Amatya v. Himalayan Bank by name); (5) the public-interest and justice faces (the court's residual jurisdiction where the veil's respect would defeat justice); (6) the statutory lifting faces (the insolvency's fraudulent- trading reach; the criminal law's channel — Unit 7.4). The Nepali authority (the landmark): Unity Life International Ltd. vs. Government of Nepal, NKP 2069, No. 4, D.N. 8814 (writ no. 2066-WO-1293, decided 2068/12/15 — Unit 10's full treatment): the Supreme Court held that separate corporate personality is not an absolute protection — where a company is used for fraud, deception, tax evasion…