Nokia keen to settle Rs 20,000-crore tax dispute without arbitration

Via The Economic Times | Jun 17, 2015

Telecom equipment maker Nokia extended an olive branch to the Indian government,
saying it wants to resolve an ongoing tax dispute amicably and that arbitration
is not a priority. The Finnish firm also underlined India's potential as a manu
facturing hub, saying the dispute aside, it has had a fruitful experience in the
country and other multinationals should set up shop to reap the benefits. "Ther
e are better ways to resolve those (tax) issues (than arbitration) and we would
like to exhaust those options first," Barry French, executive vice president of
marketing and corporate affairs at Nokia, said. He said India was "incredibly im
portant" and would remain so after the 150-year-old company completes its acquis
ition of Alcatel-Lucent. French said the multi-billion dollar tax issue was comp
lex and would take time to be resolved. Nokia will try to settle through the ong
oing legal process or mutual agreement procedure under a double taxation avoidan
ce agreement with Finland. The comments mark a change in Nokia's stance towards
resolving the Rs 20,000 crore-odd tax dispute after authorities froze its assets
in India and prevented transfer of its Chennai handset manufacturing plant to M
icrosoft, which acquired its devices business globally last year.