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The Indian government has denied reports that it has asked state-owned banks to withdraw funds from foreign currency accounts abroad in anticipation of their potential seizure with regard to the Cairn legal dispute, terming such information as "false and baseless". <div type="ExtQuote" text="Condemning all such source-based reports as false, the Government of India said that these are totally incorrect reports which were not based on true facts. Certain vested parties appear to have orchestrated such misleading reporting, which often relies upon unnamed sources and presents a lopsided picture of factual and legal developments in the case." auname="An official statement from the government"></div> It said that the India is "vigorously" defending its case in this legal dispute, and has filed an application on March 22 to set aside the "highly flawed" December 2020 international arbitral award in The Hague Court of Appeal. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Text"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> "The government has raised several arguments that warrant setting aside the award. This proceeding is pending," the government said, adding that it is committed to pursuing all legal avenues to defend its case in this dispute worldwide. It was also stated that the CEO and the representatives of Cairns have approached the government for discussions to resolve the matter. "Constructive discussions have been held and the Government remains open for an amicable solution to the dispute within the country's legal framework," the Finance Ministry statement said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/gadgets/news/apples-2021-ipad-pro-users-will-now-be-able-to-download-ipados-updates-over-5g-connection/articleshow/82883050.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Apple's 2021 iPad Pro users will now be able to download iPadOS updates over 5G connection</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/here-are-a-few-interesting-updates-from-google-i/o-2021-to-make-your-life-easier/articleshow/82882620.cms">Here are a few interesting updates from Google I/O 2021 to make your life easier</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/officials-in-up-warns-farmers-for-possible-locust-attack/articleshow/82879335.cms">Officials in UP warns farmers of possible locust attack</a>

Indian government denies reports on PSBs withdrawing funds from abroad due to the Cairn dispute, and is strongly defending its stand in the dispute

UK's <keyword id="128650" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn-Energy">Cairn Energy</keyword> has identified USD 70 billion of Indian assets overseas for potential seizure to collect USD 1.72 billion due from the government -- a move if successful will put India in league with Pakistan and Venezuela which faced similar enforcement action over failure to pay arbitration awards. The assets identified range from <keyword id="2573" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India">Air India</keyword>'s planes to vessels belonging to the Shipping Corporation of India, and properties owned by state-owned banks to oil and gas cargoes of PSUs, three people familiar with the matter said. These assets are across several jurisdictions, they said without giving further details. <keyword id="64469" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn">Cairn</keyword> plans to move courts in the US to Singapore for seizure of the assets in absence of Indian government's refusal to honour an international arbitration award. "The Indian government naturally will challenge such seizure but to save the assets it may have to pawn money equivalent to the value of assets in some financial security such as bank guarantee. The court will return such a guarantee to India if it does not find merit in Cairn's case. But the surety will be passed on to Cairn if the court finds that India had failed to honour its obligation," a source said. Cairn has got an international arbitration award -- which overturned levy of retrospective taxes and ordered New Delhi to return the value of shares it had sold, dividends seized and tax refunds withheld to recover such taxes -- registered in the US, UK, France, the Netherlands, Singapore, Mauritius, Canada's Quebec province, Japan and UAE. Now it has started moving courts to get a declaration that state-owned entities are alter egos of India and they should be held liable for discharge of the arbitration award in absence of the government making payments. Cairn on May 14 filed a lawsuit in a New York court to get Air India recognised as the alter ego of India and that "it should be held jointly and severally responsible for India's debts, including from any judgment resulting from recognition of the award". Once a court recognises Air India as the alter ego of the Indian government, Cairn can seek attachment or seizure of its assets in the US such as airplanes, immovable assets and bank accounts to recover the amount it was awarded by the arbitration tribunal. The move is similar to a court in the British Virgin Islands ordering in December last year that <keyword id="6368036" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hotels">hotels</keyword> in New York and Paris owned by Pakistan International Airlines would be used to settle a claim against Pakistan's government by a Canadian-Chilean copper company. Crystallex International Corp had brought a similar lawsuit to attach property of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A (PDVSA), the state-owned oil company of Venezuela, in Delaware couple of years back after the Latin American country failed to pay the firm USD 1.2 billion that an arbitration tribunal had ordered to pay in lieu of the 2011 seizing gold deposits held and developed by the firm. In 2012, Elliott Management, a buccaneering American hedge fund which held distressed Argentine bonds, seized a handsome tall ship belonging to Argentina's navy. Recently, French courts ruled that a stifled creditor could seize a business jet belonging to the government of Congo-Brazzaville while it was being serviced at a French airport, as well as USD 30 million from a bank account of the country's state oil company. While the finance ministry has so far not commented on the Cairn move, sources said India will take all necessary steps to defend against any such "illegal enforcement action". India, they said, will contest the move on grounds that the government has challenged the arbitration award in the appropriate court in The Hague and it is confident that the award will be set aside. Sources said the government has also engaged a counsel team which is ready to defend against any enforcement action. While they maintained that neither the government nor any PSU has received any such notice, people aware of the Cairn lawsuit said the case has been brought only on Friday and notices in due course will come to the concerned authorities. The sources said as and when any such notice is received, the government/ concerned organisation shall take all necessary steps to defend against "any such illegal enforcement action". "Cairn is taking the necessary legal steps to protect shareholders' interest in the absence of a resolution of the arbitral award," a company spokesperson said commenting on the issue. "Cairn remains open to continuing constructive dialogue with the <keyword id="6377129" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-of-india">Government of India</keyword> to arrive at a satisfactory outcome to this long-running issue." The Scottish firm invested in the oil and gas sector in India in 1994 and a decade later it made a huge oil discovery in Rajasthan. In 2006 it listed its Indian assets on the BSE. Five years after that the government passed a retroactive tax law and billed Cairn ₹10,247 crore plus interest and penalty for the reorganisation tied to the flotation. The state then expropriated and liquidated Cairn's remaining shares in the Indian entity, seized dividends and withheld tax refunds to recover a part of the demand. Cairn challenged the move before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, which in December awarded it USD 1.2 billion (over ₹8,800 crore) plus costs and interest, which totals USD 1.725 million (₹12,600 crore) as of December 2020. The company, which previously said the ruling was binding and enforceable under international treaty law, has been since then courting Indian government officials to get the money paid. But the government has not agreed to pay. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had last month reiterated that international arbitration ruling on India's sovereign right to taxation sets wrong precedent, but had said that the government is looking at how best it can sort out the issue. The government, which participated in an international arbitration brought by the Scottish firm against being taxed retrospectively, has appealed against The Hague based tribunal's ruling. Sources said the appeal does not inhibit the company from seeking seizure of Indian assets. "It may not go for seizure of assets in the Netherlands during pendency of the appeal, but it can go after assets elsewhere," a source said. 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UK's Cairn Energy identifies $70 billion Indian assets for seizing to recover amount due from government

British oil firm <keyword id="262456" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn-Energy-Plc">Cairn Energy Plc</keyword> on Tuesday said it has identified Indian sovereign assets overseas, which it can seize in the event of New Delhi failing to return over USD 1.7 billion that an international arbitration tribunal has ordered after rescinding a <keyword id="10021078" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="retrospective-tax-demand">retrospective tax demand</keyword>. "<keyword id="64469" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn">Cairn</keyword> is extremely confident that satisfaction of the award will be achieved either by negotiated settlement or by enforcement against Indian assets," the firm said in its 2020 annual earnings statement. The firm has moved courts in nine countries to get the arbitral award registered and recognised. "The tribunal ruled unanimously that India had breached its obligations to Cairn under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty and awarded to Cairn damages of USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and costs, which immediately became payable. The total due at the year-end was USD 1.7 billion," it said. The firm said it has engaged directly with the <keyword id="6377129" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-of-india">government of India</keyword> regarding satisfaction of the award, which is also enforceable against Indian-owned assets in more than 160 countries that have signed and ratified the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. "Cairn has already taken steps to have the Award recognised in certain major jurisdictions in which Indian sovereign assets have been identified," the statement said. had on March 8 reported that the December 21 award from a three-member tribunal at the <keyword id="1056875" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Permanent-Court-of-Arbitration">Permanent Court of Arbitration</keyword> in the Netherlands has been recognised and confirmed by courts in the US, the UK, Netherlands, Canada and France. Further, the firm has started the process to register the award in Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the Cayman Islands. "Cairn's engagement with the Government of India on its arbitration award will continue in parallel with pursuing options of enforcement and monetisation of the Award in order to safeguard shareholders' rights," the statement noted. The registration of the award is the first step towards its enforcement in the event of the government not paying the firm. Once the court recognises an arbitration award, the company can then petition it for seizing any Indian government assets such as bank accounts, payments to state-owned entities, aeroplanes and ships in those jurisdictions, to recover the monies due to it. So far the government has not directly commented on honouring or challenging the Cairn arbitration award, but Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> had last week indicated going in for an appeal. The tribunal had on December 21 ruled that the government breached an investment treaty with the UK and was therefore liable to return the value of shares it had seized and sold, dividend confiscated and tax refund stopped to adjust a Rs 10,247 crore tax demand. Simon Thomson, Chief Executive, Cairn, said: "We have engaged with the Government of India regarding adherence to the ruling and we are pursuing all avenues to protect our shareholders' rights to the value of the award". Cairn said the tribunal ruled that the dispute was within the scope of the Treaty and other relevant legal parameters. "It further ruled that the application to Cairn of the retrospective tax amendment introduced by the Government of India was "grossly unfair", discriminatory and in breach of the "Fair and Equitable Treatment" standard of the Treaty," the statement said. The tribunal, therefore, ordered the withdrawal of the tax demand in India and awarded to Cairn compensation equal to the value of the shares held in Cairn India Limited (subsequently merged with <keyword id="2819168" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vedanta-Limited">Vedanta Limited</keyword>) seized by India in 2014 and withheld tax refunds due on other matters, totalling USD 1.223 billion-plus interest and costs, which is now payable. "Interest is payable based on USD six-month LIBOR plus a semi-annual margin of 1.375 per cent, accruing from 2014, and the costs awarded totalled USD 22 million. The total amount due to Cairn on December 31, 2020, was USD 1.725 billion," it said. 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Cairn says it has identified Indian assets for seizing should it be not paid

<ul class="p-rich_text_list p-rich_text_list__bullet"><li>India has decided to do away with a 2012 law that allowed the government to tax profits from earlier years even though theywere not taxable at the time.</li><li>This brings to end a decade-long tussle with foreign companies that saw the law as a deterrent to investments in India.</li><li>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced 'The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021' which will undo the damage from the 2012 law.</li><li>The bill also proposes to refund the amount paid so far, in these cases, without any interest thereon.</li></ul>In a bid to bury the ghost of retrospective taxation, the government on Thursday brought a bill in the Lok Sabha to withdraw all back tax demands on companies such as Cairn Energy and Vodafone and said it will refund the money collected to enforce such levies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced 'The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021' in the Lok Sabha that seeks to withdraw tax demands made using a 2012 retrospective legislation to tax the indirect transfer of Indian assets. The bill provides for the withdrawal of tax demand made on "indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before May 28, 2012 (i.e. the day the <keyword id="996979" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="retrospective-tax">retrospective tax</keyword> legislation came into being)." "It is also proposed to refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest thereon," it said. The bill has a direct bearing on long-running tax disputes with British firms Cairn Energy Plc and Vodafone Group. The Indian government has lost two separate arbitrations brought by the two companies against the levy of retrospective taxes. While the government has virtually no liability in the Vodafone case, it has to refund USD 1.2 billion to Cairn Energy for the shares of the company it had sold, tax refund withheld and dividends confiscated. The bill states that the issue of taxability of gains arising from the transfer of assets located in India through the transfer of shares of a foreign company (indirect transfer of Indian assets) was a subject matter of protracted litigation. The Supreme Court in 2012 had given a verdict that gains arising from indirect transfer of Indian assets are not taxable under the extant provisions of the Act. But to circumvent this, the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 were amended by the Finance Act, 2012 with retrospective effect, to clarify that gains arising from the sale of shares of a foreign company is taxable in India if such shares, directly or indirectly, derive their value substantially from assets located in India. "Pursuant thereto, income-tax demand had been raised in 17 cases. In two cases assessments are pending due to stay granted by High Court," the objects of the Bill said. Out of the 17 cases, arbitration under Bilateral Investment Protection Treaty with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands had been invoked in four cases. "In two cases, the Arbitration Tribunal ruled in favour of the taxpayer and against the Income Tax Department," it said in a reference to arbitration awards won by Cairn and Vodafone. "The said clarificatory amendments made by the Finance Act, 2012 invited criticism from stakeholders mainly with respect to the retrospective effect given to the amendments. It is argued that such retrospective amendments militate against the principle of tax certainty and damage India's reputation as an attractive destination," it said. While the government has in the past few years brought major reforms in the financial and infrastructure sector to create a positive environment for investment in the country, "the retrospective clarificatory amendment and consequent demand created in a few cases continue to be a sore point with potential investors," it said. The country today stands at a juncture when quick recovery of the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic is the need of the hour and foreign investment has an important role to play in promoting faster economic growth and employment. "The Bill proposes to amend the Income-tax Act, 1961 so as to provide that no tax demand shall be raised in future on the basis of the said retrospective amendment for any indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before 28th May 2012 (i.e., the date on which the Finance Bill, 2012 received the assent of the President)," it said. It further proposed to provide that the demand raised for indirect transfer of Indian assets made before May 28, 2012 shall be nullified on fulfilment of specified conditions such as withdrawal or furnishing of undertaking for withdrawal of pending litigation and furnishing of an undertaking to the effect that no claim for cost, damages, interest, etc shall be filed. It also proposed to "refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest thereon," it said. The bill proposes to amend the Finance Act, 2012 so as to provide that the validation of demand under section 119 of the Finance Act, 2012 shall cease to apply on fulfilment of specified conditions such as withdrawal of pending litigation and furnishing of an undertaking that no claim for cost, damages, interest, etc shall be filed. 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Indian government brings in a bill to bury the infamous retrospective tax that haunted Cairn and Vodafone for nearly a decade

India is believed to have challenged in a court in The Hague an <keyword id="10983799" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="arbitration-tribunal-verdict">arbitration tribunal verdict</keyword> that overturned its demand for ₹10,247 crore in <keyword id="172303" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="back-taxes">back taxes</keyword> from <keyword id="128650" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn-Energy">Cairn Energy</keyword> Plc -- the second time in three months that it has refused to accept an <keyword id="603715" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-award">international award</keyword> against retrospective tax. The appeal was filed on Monday, a source with knowledge of the matter said. The <keyword id="47209" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-Ministry">Finance Ministry</keyword> spokesperson did not immediately respond to an e-mail sent for comments. The appeal against a three-member tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague invalidating India's Rs 10,247 crore tax claim on Cairn Energy and ordering the government to return the value of shares it had sold, dividends seized and tax refunds withheld, comes weeks before UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's visit to India. The British Prime Minister is widely expected to broach India honouring international arbitration awards during his April 26 visit, another source said. In December, the government had challenged in a <keyword id="211440" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Singapore-court">Singapore court</keyword> an international arbitration tribunal verdict that overturned its demand for ₹22,100 crore in back taxes from Vodafone Group Plc. Since the seat of Vodafone arbitration was Singapore, an appeal was filed in a court in that country. In the case of Cairn, the seat was The Hague and so an appeal has been filed in a court in the Netherlands, the first source said. The appeal was filed on a day when Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur had told the Lok Sabha in a written reply that "any such decision on filing of appeal or otherwise is taken only after careful consideration of all aspects of the matter." The tribunal's 582-page detailed verdict that asked India to return USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and cost to Cairn was registered in the Netherlands on January 8 and New Delhi acknowledged it on January 19, the source said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier this month indicated the government's intent of appealing against the award on grounds of it questioning the sovereign powers of India to levy taxes. Her ministry feels taxation is not a subject of bilateral investment treaties, like the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty under which Cairn had sought rescinding of the tax demand raised, and so the award should be appealed. It is of the opinion that Cairn set up a tax abusive structure in 2006 when it reorganised its India business to list the local unit, and did not pay taxes anywhere in the world on the gains that it made in India, they said, adding India had made an unsuccessful case of tax not being part of the treaty before the arbitration panel as well. However, the arbitration award specifically made it clear the base of the judgment was not a challenge to the 2012 law or India's sovereign right to tax. "The issue at stake is thus not a matter of domestic tax law, it is rather whether the fiscal measures taken by the state, valid or not under its own tax laws, violate international law," the tribunal had said in a unanimous verdict. The Hague panel found that a 2012 law passed by the Indian Parliament was a new tax, not a clarification of prior law that could be applied to earlier years. Cairn has moved courts in nine countries to enforce the award against India. The award has already been recognised by courts in the US, the UK, Netherlands, Canada and France and the same is in the process in Singapore, Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the Cayman Islands. The registration of the award is the first step towards its enforcement in the event of the government not paying the firm. Once the court recognises an arbitration award, the company can then petition it for seizing any Indian government assets such as bank accounts, payments to state-owned entities, airplanes and ships in those jurisdictions, to recover the monies due to it, sources said. Sources said the government believes that taxation is not covered under investment protection treaties with various countries and the law on taxation is a sovereign right of the country. While the treaties are primarily aimed at the protection of investments, the tax is levied on 'returns' earned by entities. But the Hague tribunal had gone into this claim and rejected it. Vodafone had challenged before the arbitration tribunal the demand for ₹7,990 crore in capital gains taxes (₹22,100 crore after including interest and penalty) under the Netherlands-India Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The demand pertained to Vodafone's USD 11-billion acquisition of 67 per cent stake in the mobile phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007. 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Indian government appeals against tribunal ruling of $1.4 billion Cairn arbitration award

<ul><li><keyword id="64469" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cairn" source="Orion">Cairn</keyword> Energy has accepted the Indian government's $1 billion <keyword id="12044719" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="refund-offer" source="Orion">refund offer</keyword>.</li><li>The company had earlierstarted seizing Indian assets, beginning with 20 of them in France amounting to $23 million.</li><li>The company has said that it will drop litigations to seize diplomatic apartments in Paris and <keyword id="2573" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India" source="Orion">Air India</keyword> airplanes in the US.</li></ul> UK-based <keyword id="262456" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cairn-energy-plc" source="Orion">Cairn Energy PLC</keyword> on Tuesday said it will drop litigations to seize <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="Orion">India</keyword>n properties in countries ranging from France to the US, within a couple of days of getting a USD 1 billion refund resulting from the scrapping of a retrospective tax law. The firm, which gave India its biggest onland oil discovery, termed "bold" the legislation passed last month to cancel a 2012 policy that gave the tax department power to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India. The offer to return money seized to enforce retrospective tax demand in lieu of dropping all litigations against the government "is acceptable to us," Cairn CEO Simon Thomson told PTI in an interview from London. Cairn will drop cases to seize diplomatic apartments in Paris and Air India airplanes in the US in "a matter of a couple of days" after the refund, he said adding Cairn's shareholders are in agreement with accepting the offer and moving on. "Some of our core shareholders likes BlackRock and Franklin Templeton agree (to this). Our view is supported by our core shareholders (that) on balance it is better to accept and move on and be pragmatic. Rather than continue with something negative for all parties which could last for many years," he said. Seeking to repair India's damaged reputation as an investment destination, the government last month enacted new legislation to drop Rs 1.1 lakh crore in outstanding claims against multinationals such as telecoms group Vodafone, pharmaceuticals company Sanofi and brewer SABMiller, now owned by AB InBev, and Cairn. About Rs 8,100 crore collected from companies under the scrapped tax provision are to be refunded if the firms agreed to drop outstanding litigation, including claims for interest and penalties. Of this, ₹7,900 crore is due only to Cairn. "Once we get to final resolution, part of that resolution is us dropping everything in terms of litigation. We can do that within a very short period of time, just a matter of a couple of days or something," Thomson said. "So we are preparing on the basis of getting this resolution quickly, all these cases being dropped, and putting all this behind." He said all enforcement proceedings brought because of the Government of India's refusal to honour an international arbitration award asking it to return the value of money seized to enforce the retrospective tax demand, will be dropped. "Everything will be dropped. There will be no more litigation, that will be it. It will clear the matter up," he said. Cairn in its half-yearly report on Tuesday said it will return up to USD 700 million out of the ₹7,900 crore (USD 1.06 billion) it is supposed to get from the Indian government, to "shareholders via special dividend and buyback." "Payment of the tax refund would enable a proposed return to shareholders of up to USD 700 million, via a special dividend of USD 500 million and a share buyback programme of up to USD 200 million. The remainder of the proceeds would be allocated to further expansion of the low-cost, sustainable production base," it said. Thomson said Cairn has had a "good, open and transparent line of communications with the Government of India" on finding a resolution to the retro tax issue. "Our aim was to get to a resolution... something which would be acceptable to our shareholders." "We were pleased when the Government of India made what we thought was a pretty bold move, in terms of enactment of the legislation," he said. "The intention of the government, we are obviously aligned with it, is to get this resolved as quickly as possible. Hopefully, that means within the next few weeks. It is good not only for us and our shareholders but also importantly for India." The resolution will bury the ghost of retro tax and help move on. "We are keen to get back to Cairn being talked about in terms of success in Rajasthan. I think moving on from this will allow us to do that," he said referring to the prolific oil discovery the firm made in Barmer. In accepting the terms of the new legislation in India, Cairn would be required to withdraw its international arbitration award claim, interest and costs and to end all legal enforcement actions in order to be eligible for the refund. "It will mean we will forego interest and penalty in terms of the original arbitration award. The important thing for us is it returns the value that was taken from us. From our perspective it is the right thing to do, be pragmatic, put this behind us, move on," he said adding this would help wipe away a factor negatively impacting investment for many years to come. The 2012 legislation was used to levy a cumulative of ₹1.10 lakh crore of tax on 17 entities including UK telecom giant Vodafone but nearly 98 per cent of the ₹8,100 crore recovered in enforcing such a demand was only from Cairn. An international arbitration tribunal in December overturned a levy of Rs 10,247 crore in taxes on a 2006 reorganisation of Cairn's India prior to its listing, and asked the Indian government to return the value of shares seized and sold, dividend confiscated and tax refund withheld. This totalled USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty. The Indian government initially refused to honour the award, forcing Cairn to identify USD 70 billion of Indian assets from the US to Singapore to enforce the ruling, including taking flag carrier Air India Ltd to a US court in May. A French court in July paved the way for Cairn to seize real estate belonging to the Indian government in Paris. All these litigations will be dropped, he added. 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Cairn accepts India's $1 billion refund offer, says will drop all cases against the government

<keyword id="64469" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="cairn" source="Orion">Cairn</keyword> Energy and <keyword id="2573" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India" source="Orion">Air India</keyword> have jointly asked a New York federal court to stay further proceedings in the British firm's <keyword id="174117" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-lawsuit" source="Orion">US lawsuit</keyword> targeting the airline for enforcement of a USD 1.2-billion arbitral award. The move follows the government enacting a law to scrap retrospective taxation in the country, which in effect will result in withdrawal of the Rs 10,247 crore tax demand on Cairn, according to court documents reviewed by PTI. The British company had won an international arbitration award against levy of such taxes and sought to take over Air <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> assets when the government refused to honour the award and pay it USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty. But, last month, the government enacted the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021, that scraps all such retrospective tax demands and has agreed to refund Rs 7,900 crore it had seized from Cairn to enforce such demand. Cairn has indicated that the refund, without interest and penalty, was acceptable to it - opening an avenue to settle the seven-year-old dispute. Cairn and Air India in a joint request to US District Judge Paul Gardephe on September 13 stated that a stay on proceedings would give them "additional time to evaluate the effects and implications" of legislation that repealed the retroactive tax. In return for the Rs 7,900 crore, Cairn would drop lawsuits threatening court-ordered seizures of Indian government property abroad. One of those suits was filed in May against state-owned Air India Ltd, which Cairn has said should be considered alter ego of the Indian government. "The implementing regulations are in the rulemaking process and will take some time," the two said in the petition seeking extension of the October 21 deadline for the presentation of case papers and initial pretrial conference on October 28. They requested the court to "stay any further proceedings in this matter through October 31, 2021, and reschedule the initial pretrial conference and, respectively, the deadline for the parties to submit their Joint Pretrial Letter and Proposed Case Management Plan, for new dates in November 2021." "The Parties have conferred and agreed that the stay will facilitate the efficient resolution of the dispute, conserve the Court's and Parties' resources, and is not intended to obstruct or delay," they added. Cairn had on May 14 brought a lawsuit in the New York district court to hold Air India liable as the alter ego of the Republic of India for the obligations the government owes under a foreign arbitral award. The firm separately filed a petition before the District Court for the District of Columbia to recognise and enforce the arbitration award against India on February 12, 2021. Seeking to repair India's damaged reputation as an investment destination, the government last month enacted new legislation to drop Rs 1.1 lakh crore in outstanding claims against multinationals such as telecom group Vodafone, pharmaceuticals company Sanofi and brewer SABMiller, now owned by AB InBev, and Cairn. About Rs 8,100 crore collected from companies under the scrapped tax provision are to be refunded if the firms agreed to drop outstanding litigation, including claims for interest and penalties. Of this, Rs 7,900 crore is due only to Cairn. An international arbitration tribunal in December overturned a levy of Rs 10,247 crore in taxes on a 2006 reorganisation of Cairn's India business prior to its listing. It also asked the Indian government to return the value of shares seized and sold, dividend confiscated and tax refund withheld. This totalled USD 1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty. The government initially refused to honour the award, forcing Cairn to identify USD 70 billion of Indian assets from the US to Singapore to enforce the ruling, including taking flag carrier Air India Ltd to a US court in May. A French court in July paved the way for Cairn to seize real estate belonging to the Indian government in Paris. All these litigations will be dropped once Rs 7,900 crore is paid, Cairn CEO Simon Thomson had told PTI earlier this month. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-mining-isnt-just-consuming-energy-its-also-generating-272-grams-of-e-waste-with-every-transaction/articleshow/86228818.cms">Bitcoin mining isn't just consuming energy, it's also generating 272 grams of e-waste with every transaction</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ami-organics-ipo-rewarded-investors-with-12288-profit-on-the-second-day-of-listing/articleshow/86228819.cms">Investors who had put money in this IPO made over ₹12,000 profit in 2 days</a>

Cairn Energy and Air India seek stay on New York court proceedings

New Delhi, Mar 10 () British oil explorer Cairn Energy Plc expects an international arbitral tribunal to give a decree by the summer of 2020 on its challenge to the Indian government seeking Rs 10,247 crore in retrospective taxes. The three-member tribunal, which had in December 2018 completed main court hearings in the British company's challenge to the Indian government using a retrospective legislation to seek Rs 10,247 crore in taxes, was supposed to give an award by February 2019, but in March 2019, it delayed it to 2019-end and then to the summer of 2020. "All formal hearings and submissions have now been made and the tribunal is in the process of drafting its award. The tribunal has indicated that it expects to be in a position to issue the award in the summer of 2020," Cairn said in its half-yearly earnings announcement on Tuesday. No reason was given by the tribunal for the delay in the award. Cairn said it is seeking full restitution for losses totalling more than USD 1.4 billion resulting from government expropriation of its investments in India in 2014. The company, which gave the country its biggest oil discovery, received a notice from the income tax department in January 2014, requesting information related to the group reorganisation done in 2006. Alongside, the department attached the company's near 10 per cent shareholding in its erstwhile subsidiary, Cairn India. In March 2015, the tax department sought Rs 10,247 crore in taxes on alleged capital gains made by the company in the internal reorganisation. Cairn Energy had in 2010-11 sold Cairn India to Vedanta. Following the merger of Cairn India and Vedanta in April 2017, the UK firm's shareholding in Cairn India was replaced by a shareholding of about 5 per cent in Vedanta issued together with preference shares. In addition to attaching its shares in Vedanta, the tax department seized dividends totalling Rs 1,140 crore due to it from those shareholdings, and set off a Rs 1,590-crore tax refund against the demand. Cairn Energy in 2015 initiated an international arbitration to challenge retrospective taxation. Pending final award, the tax department sold Cairn Energy's shares in Vedanta to recover part of the tax demand. "The Indian income tax department holds Cairn UK Holdings Ltd (a direct subsidiary of Cairn Energy) as an assessee in default in respect of tax demanded on the 2006 transactions, and as such has pursued enforcement against CUHL's assets in India. "To date, these enforcement actions have included attachment of CUHL's shareholding in Vedanta Ltd and sale of 181,764,297 shares and seizure of the proceeds, seizure of the proceeds from the redemption of the preference shares, seizure of the USD 159.8 million dividends due to CUHL, and offset of a USD 222.8 million tax refund due to CUHL in respect of another matter," the statement said. To date, 99 per cent of Cairn UK Holdings Ltd's (CUHL) shareholding has been liquidated by the tax department, it said. The assessment by the tax department of principal tax due on the 2006 transactions is Rs 10,267 crore, plus applicable interest and penalties. "Interest is currently being charged on the principal at a rate of 12 per cent per annum from February 2017, although this is potentially subject to the tax department's Indian court appeal that interest should be back-dated to 2007," it said. "Penalties are currently assessed as 100 per cent of the principal tax due, although this is subject to appeal by CUHL that penalties should not be charged given the retrospective nature of the tax levied." Cairn said it has got legal advice confirming that the maximum amount that could ultimately be recovered from the company by the tax department, in excess of the assets already seized, is limited to the value of CUHL's assets, principally the remaining ordinary shares in Vedanta Ltd. "In March 2015, Cairn filed a Notice of Dispute under the UK-India Bilateral Investment Treaty in order to protect its legal position and seek restitution of the value effectively seized by the Indian income tax department (IITD) in and since January 2014. "Cairn's principal claims are that the assurance of fair and equitable treatment and protection against expropriation afforded by the treaty have been breached by the actions of the IITD, which is seeking to apply retrospective taxes to historical transactions already closely scrutinised and approved by the Government of India. The IITD has attached and seized assets to try to enforce such taxation," it said. Cairn is pleading that the effects of the tax assessment should be nullified and that the company should receive recompense from the government for the loss of value resulting from the 2014 attachment of CUHL's shares in Cairn India Ltd and the withholding of the tax refund, which together total about USD 1.4 billion, according to the statement. "The treaty proceedings formally commenced in January 2016 following an agreement between Cairn and the Republic of India on the appointment of a panel of three international arbitrators under the terms of the treaty. Cairn's statement of claim was submitted to the arbitral tribunal in June 2016 and the Republic of India submitted its statement of defence in February 2017. "Further submissions and document production took place in 2017 and 2018. The main evidentiary hearing of Cairn's claim under the Treaty took place in August 2018 in The Hague with a final hearing in December 2018. All formal hearings and submissions have now been made and the tribunal is in the process of drafting its award. The tribunal has indicated that it expects to be in a position to issue the award in the summer of 2020," it said. Based on detailed legal advice, Cairn said it remains confident that it will be successful in this arbitration and, accordingly, no provision has been made for any of the tax or penalties assessed by the IITD. It had previously stated that the arbitration panel is expected to issue a binding and internationally-enforceable award. ANZ HRS

Cairn expects arbitration award in retro tax case by this summer

Union Minister <keyword id="197418" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dharmendra-Pradhan">Dharmendra Pradhan</keyword> has promised a "transparent regulatory regime" for greater ease in doing business with India. He said so while attending a road show in Houston, Texas to promote the auction of 46 discovered oil and gas fields. 
 These fields, which were discovered by <keyword id="769942" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-And-Natural-Gas-Corporation-Ltd">Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd</keyword> (<keyword id="6354737" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="ONGC">ONGC</keyword>) and <keyword id="111992" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Oil-India-Ltd">Oil India LTD</keyword> (OIL), are predicted to be put on production through speedy efforts. 
 The road show was attended by several global oil-related companies, including Magna Energy, BP, IHS Energy, Texas Oil &amp; Gas Technology, Nabors, McDermott, Reliance Exploration and Production DMCC, <keyword id="50041" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="KPMG">KPMG</keyword>, Halliburton, Joshi Technologies International, Vega Energy, and Schlumberger. For all details of these oil and gas fields to be made available to the interested parties, the road show had extensive and detailed presentations and one-on-one meetings with the companies. 
 Some companies, like BG, <keyword id="128650" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cairn-Energy">Cairn Energy</keyword>, ONGC, and RIL also shared their happy experiences when they worked in the Indian exploration and production (E&amp;P) sector. 
 
The minister, in this moment of glory, promised a "transparent regulatory regime" and greater ease of doing business, adding that "We recognise that the need of the hour is to increase the domestic energy production by unlocking India's hydrocarbon potential." 
 
The current round of bidding round is also being held under a revised set of guidelines which are industry friendly; the Discovered Small Fields Policy is also acting as the regulatory framework. 
 
The round is seeing potential investors being offered 67 fields in 46 contract areas, across 9 sedimentary basins, through International Competitive Bidding in the oil and gas producing basins. 
 
36 of these fields are located in offshore areas, while the rest 31 are in on land basins. These fields, together, have an estimated 625 Million barrels of Oil and Oil Equivalent Gas in-place volumes, while being spread over 1500 square kilometers. 
 The show turned out to be a hit, with the hall full of attendees, including heads of major energy companies, think tanks, analysts, Indian Americans with interest, oil lobbyist, diplomats and various technologists. Pradhan took this opportunity to assure all possible support from his Ministry and the <keyword id="6377129" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Government-Of-India">Government of India</keyword> so that investors’ endeavours can reach good results. 
 
"The bid timelines are stringent and my team is geared to ensure a smooth process. I look forward to an encouraging participation in the bidding from you all. We have also setup a facilitation cell for assisting you throughout the bid process," he said amidst a thunderous applause. 
 
<a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/3372202/images/o-DHARMENDRA-PRADHAN-facebook.jpg">Image source</a>

Doing business with India to be made easier, promises Dharmendra Pradhan

New Delhi, Homegrown Twitter-like platform <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> has garnered over 10 lakh new users in just one week, surpassing the 40 lakh-figure in nearly 10 months of its arrival, as Twitter was caught in crosshairs with the Indian government over its direction to remove nearly 1,400 controversial accounts. Koo, a favourite among several Union ministers, including IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad who is at the forefront of the government's war with Twitter, has reached 4.2 million users within no time. According to data analytics platform Statista, as of January 2021, the micro-blogging platform Twitter had an audience reach of 69.3 million users in the US. Japan and India were ranked second and third with 50.9 and 17.5 million users, respectively. The fast-growing vernacular platform Koo describes itself as a personal updates and opinion sharing micro-blogging service. The app won the Atmanirbhar App Innovation Challenge held in August last year and Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword> encouraged Indians to use the Koo app in his 'Mann Ki Baat' speech too. However, Koo also found itself in the midst of several controversies including a data leak row and Chinese investment. Koo Co-founder and CEO Aprameya Radhakrishna denied that there was any data leak. "Koo is an India registered company with Indian founders. Raised earlier capital 2.5 years ago. Latest funds for Bombinate Technologies is led by a truly Indian investor 3one4 capital. Shunwei (single digit shareholder) which had invested in our Vokal journey will be exiting fully," Radhakrishna said in an earlier investment. Koo has raised $4.1 million as part of its Series A funding. Infosys veteran Mohandas Pai's 3one4 Capital is the latest addition to the investors on board, according to the company, and <keyword id="144381" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Accel-Partners">Accel Partners</keyword>, <keyword id="1397792" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kalaari-Capital">Kalaari Capital</keyword>, <keyword id="592779" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Blume-Ventures">Blume Ventures</keyword> and Dream Incubator also participated in the round. "We have got more love than we expected. Our systems are facing more load than ever. Thank you for placing your trust in us. Our team is working on overdrive to fix it. We request your patience and support through this time. Let's do this together," Radhakrishna had said. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-issues-new-guidelines-for-passengers-arriving-from-the-uk-brazil-europe-and-middle-east-countries/articleshow/81083248.cms">India issues new guidelines for passengers arriving from the UK, Brazil, Europe and Middle-East countries</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/not-just-a-tiktok-clone-says-chingari-app-founder-with-their-latest-shop-within-videos-feature-which-he-claims-is-the-next-big-thing-in-social-commerce/articleshow/81084432.cms">‘Not just a TikTok clone,’ says Chingari founder with their latest shop within videos feature which he claims is the next big thing in social commerce</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/samsung-galaxy-f62-review-the-new-mid-range-killer/articleshow/81084382.cms">Samsung Galaxy F62 review – the new mid-range killer</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/cairn-energy-ceo-meets-indian-finance-secretary-as-shareholders-impatiently-wait-for-action-on-the-1-4-billion-tax-dispute/articleshow/81087952.cms">Cairn Energy CEO meets Indian finance secretary as shareholders impatiently wait for action on the $1.4 billion tax dispute</a>

You Searched For "indian government cairn" and got 10 results

Indian government denies reports on PSBs withdrawing funds from abroad due to the Cairn dispute, and is strongly defending its stand in the dispute

IANS

UK's Cairn Energy identifies $70 billion Indian assets for seizing to recover amount due from government

PTI

Cairn says it has identified Indian assets for seizing should it be not paid

PTI

Indian government brings in a bill to bury the infamous retrospective tax that haunted Cairn and Vodafone for nearly a decade

PTI

Indian government appeals against tribunal ruling of $1.4 billion Cairn arbitration award

PTI

Cairn accepts India's $1 billion refund offer, says will drop all cases against the government

PTI

Cairn Energy and Air India seek stay on New York court proceedings

PTI

Cairn expects arbitration award in retro tax case by this summer

PTI

Doing business with India to be made easier, promises Dharmendra Pradhan

BI India Bureau

As Twitter engages in a firefight with the Indian government, homegrown rival Koo crosses 4 million users within 10 months of launch

IANS

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