Nokia India’s Rs 2,000 crore IT demand case scheduled on April 17

Telecom Lead Asia: Hearing on Nokia India’s Rs 2,000 crore IT demand case will come up for on April 17.

This is a vital case for Nokia which is struggling in Indian mobile phone market.

On the day of slapping the Rs 2,000 crore penalty, Nokia’s VP for emerging markets — D Shivakumar — has resigned. He was the MD of Nokia India before moving to Dubai. However, he said his resignation has no connection with Nokia’s performance in India.

PTI reported that the Delhi High Court posted on April 17 the hearing on a plea of mobile phone maker Nokia India against a demand notice of over Rs. 2,000 crore served on it by the income tax department for alleged evasion of taxes in its transactions here.

A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and R V Easwar, which had earlier stayed the operation of the notice till April 19, today deferred the hearing to April 17.

Nokia India, on March 21, was served with the income tax notice asking it to pay over 2,000 crore for alleged evasion of taxes in its business transactions in the country.

The mobile phone company then moved the court which had on March 22 granted the interim stay on the operation of the demand notice and asked the tax department to file its reply.

The alleged tax evasion pertains to royalty payment made against supply of software by the company’s parent company which attracts a 10 per cent tax deduction under the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) category, sources at income tax department had said.

The department has analysed the company’s business statements since 2006, they said.

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