BMW India CFO Carsten Lammers has voiced concerns over the extensive and prolonged nature of tax and Customs litigation in India, stressing the critical need for faster dispute resolution and simplified procedures to enhance business stability and attract global investment.
Key Points
- BMW India CFO Carsten Lammers expressed surprise at the extensive scale and prolonged duration of tax and Customs litigation in India.
- Lammers, drawing from his experience as a lawyer, noted that some cases he worked on a decade ago are still awaiting final court decisions.
- He emphasised the need for less litigation, faster dispute resolution, and simplified procedures to provide certainty and stability for businesses.
- Global companies view India as the 'next big thing' due to its fast-growing economy, skilled workforce, and rising middle-class consumption.
- Lammers acknowledged government efforts to improve ease of doing business, including faceless tax assessments, digitised GST, and faster refunds.
BMW India Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Carsten Lammers on Thursday expressed surprise at the scale and prolonged duration of tax and Customs litigation in India, saying faster dispute resolution and simpler procedures are critical for business stability.
In his speech at the 3rd SIAM Automotive Taxation Conference, Lammers talked about the uncertainty created by long-running legal disputes for global companies operating in India.
Challenges in Tax and Customs Litigation
"There's a lot of tax litigation going on. When I joined BMW India, I was very surprised to see the number of tax and Customs litigation we have and how long they take," Lammers said, drawing from his experience as a lawyer.
He noted that while multiple levels of legal review are positive, cases often take several years to reach a final decision.
"Some of the cases I worked on as a lawyer 10 years ago are still not finally decided in the court,” Lammers said.
He added "less litigation, faster dispute resolution, and simplified procedures" are needed right now.
India's Economic Appeal and Policy Expectations
Lammers said global companies are closely watching India as the "next big thing" because of its fast-growing economy, skilled workforce, and rising middle-class consumption.
"In the times we are in, we need certainty and stability as a business.
"We have to be able to rely on the policy and the policymakers... that the policies are clear, straightforward, simple, and applied consistently.
"In some areas, we may also need more simplified tax laws. But I know that's not an easy thing to achieve," he stated.
Government Initiatives and Evolving Tax Roles
The CFO acknowledged government measures aimed at improving the ease of doing business, including faceless tax assessments, where taxpayers interact with authorities digitally instead of through physical meetings, digitised goods and services tax (GST), faster refunds, risk-based compliance, and free trade agreements (FTAs).
FTAs are agreements between countries that reduce tariffs and other trade barriers to make cross-border trade easier.
Lammers also said the role of corporate tax departments has evolved from a traditional back-office administrative function to a strategic role within companies.
Tax professionals today act as risk managers who help guide capital allocation and protect enterprise value.
While BMW executives use artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as co-pilot for daily data analysis, Lammers said AI remains a support tool and cannot replace human judgment and ethical decision-making in financial management.
