India is in the process of filing an appeal against an arbitration panel asking it to return $1.2 billion to British oil firm Cairn Energy Plc, sources said on Wednesday. If enforcement proceedings are initiated, India is confident to address them and will strongly defend its interests, the sources said, adding it is open to a constructive settlement of tax disputes within the existing legal framework. India is in the process of filing an appeal in the Cairn's arbitration award case, they said, adding in this case, it was well within India's sovereign powers to redress the situation of Double Non-Taxation and tax abuse. Cairn chief executive Simon Thomson had last month met the then finance secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey to discuss the arbitration award.
A senior company executive said the company waited for seven years for the verdict and its shareholders needed to know when it would be concluded.
Cairn Energy and Air India have jointly asked a New York federal court to stay further proceedings in the British firm's US lawsuit targeting the airline for enforcement of a $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 India assets when the government refused to honour the award and pay it $1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty.
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The Indian government has paid Cairn Energy Plc Rs 7,900 crore to refund taxes it had collected to enforce a retrospective tax demand, ending a seven-year-old dispute that had tarred the country's image as an investment destination. The company, which is now known as Capricorn Energy PLC, in a statement said it has received "net proceeds of $1.06 billion", of which nearly 70 per cent will be returned to the shareholders. The tax department had used a 2012 legislation, which gave it powers to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India, to seek Rs 10,247 crore in taxes from Cairn.
A New York court has paused Cairn Energy's pursuit of US assets of Air India for the recovery of $1.2 billion arbitral award, so as to allow the British firm to reach a settlement with the Indian government on the long drawn dispute. The New York district court delayed the tax suit to November 18, according to court documents reviewed by PTI. This follows Cairn Energy and Air India jointly asking the court to stay further proceedings in view of the fresh government enacting a fresh law to scrap retrospective taxation in the country.
British oil firm Cairn Energy Plc 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 retrospective tax demand.
UK-based Cairn Energy PLC on Tuesday said it will drop litigations to seize Indian 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 government is likely to file an appeal against the Cairn arbitration award contesting its sovereign rights to tax, sources said.
During a series of hectic talks between Cairn Energy and the Indian government over the $1.2-billion arbitration award in favour of the former last week, a slew of options was proposed by the two sides, including computation of capital gains and participation in the Vivad se Vishwas (VsV) dispute resolution scheme. The government is likely to go ahead and appeal against the arbitration award by a Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague before March 21, indicated finance ministry officials. Cairn Energy Plc on Sunday said it was hopeful that an acceptable solution to its tax dispute with the Indian government could be found to avoid prolonging and exacerbating the 'negative issue' for all parties.
Cairn said it had initiated arbitration.
Cairn files notice against India in $1.6 billion tax dispute.
The company faces a potential tax demand.
Firm to continue to press ahead with arbitration challenging new law on the tax, will seek $1 bn in damages
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