And the uncertainty over Chennai plant transfer to Microsoft is back with Delhi High court imposing a new condition and practically stalling the transfer. In its order last week, Delhi High Court has asked Nokia to give an undertaking, which will come into play whenever the Income Tax department raises demand in future. This will make Nokia meet the demand without having the right to use the legal remedies. Nokia has now appealed to India’s highest court for relief.
Interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa is in India and has met commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma in this regard.
Nokia’s chairman and interim CEO Risto Siilasmaa said the company was trying its best to ensure that it keeps the plant running. “If we are not allowed to transfer (the unit to Micosoft), we will have a factory, but we will not have a business.And if we don’t have a business, we can’t manufacture anything in the factory. And that would be detrimental to our employees and we care deeply for our employees.
So we are trying to explore all possible means of finding a solution to to this issue.
“The use of such a practice against international standards can poison the investment climate and endanger jobs. We cannot agree to such an undertaking. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously against any arbitrary tax demand and collection attempts of the tax authorities,” he said.“The court has created greater uncertainty over this possibility by imposing these new conditions, based on the request of the income-tax authorities, which go against the spirit of its December 12 ruling and come only weeks before the expected closing of the global transaction with Microsoft in Q1 2014,” Nokia said in a statement.
