INDIA: British Finance Minister George Osborne is likely to address India's proposals to allow authorities to retrospectively tax overseas deals with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee during an annual meeting in New Delhi

Record ID: 1385369

  • Title: INDIA: British Finance Minister George Osborne is likely to address India's proposals to allow authorities to retrospectively tax overseas deals with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee during an annual meeting in New Delhi
  • Date: 3rd April 2012
  • Summary: NEW DELHI, INDIA (APRIL 02, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC) ( * BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) INDIAN FINANCE MINISTER PRANAB MUKHERJEE AND UK CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER GEORGE OSBORNE ARRIVING MUKHERJEE AND OSBORNE SHAKING HANDS PHOTOGRAPHERS TAKING PICTURES INDIAN FINANCE MINISTER SPEAKING MUKHERJEE LOOKING MUKHERJEE AND OSBORNE SHAKING HANDS UK CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER LOOKING MUKHERJEE AND OSBORNE STANDING MUKHERJEE AND OSBORNE LEAVING
  • Embargoed: 17th April 2012 23:18
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India, India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: International Relations,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAES804NU2K4GUSV3DN84QJSGG3
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: India's proposals to allow authorities to retrospectively tax overseas deals are a concern, British Finance Minister George Osborne said on Monday (April 02), adding that they might damage the country's overall investment climate.
    Osborne, who is in New Delhi for an annual meeting, is likely to address the issue with India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
    International trade groups representing more than 250,000 companies have written to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to warn him that new taxation proposals by his government have led foreign businesses to reconsider their investments.
    India's federal budget last month outlined proposals that would allow authorities to make retroactive tax claims on overseas deals, such as Vodafone Group Plc's 2007 acquisition of mobile phone assets in India.
    London-listed Vodafone Group Plc, India's largest overseas investor, has been engaged in a long-running tax struggle with the Indian government.
    Vodafone won a five-year legal battle in January when the Supreme Court dismissed a 2.2 billion U.S. dollar tax demand from authorities over the British company's acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd's Indian mobile assets in 2007.
    Business groups hailed the ruling as victory for clarity in India's investment climate, which has suffered due to policy paralysis, regulatory uncertainty and widespread corruption allegations against the government.
    But Mukherjee's proposal in the recent budget to retroactively impose tax on deals conducted overseas where the underlying asset is located in India would amend 50-year-old-tax laws and allow New Delhi to pursue tax on long-concluded transactions.
    Sluggish investment is partly to blame for slowing growth in Asia's third-largest economy, which grew at just 6.1 percent in the December quarter, the weakest in nearly three years.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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