I-T evasion matter: High Court verdict tomorrow on Nokia plea

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court will pronounce tomorrow its verdict on Nokia's plea for a direction to Income Tax department for lifting of the stay on transfer of assets here in view of its $ 7.2 billion global deal with Microsoft.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjeev Sachdeva, which today reserved its order after hearing arguments from the mobile manufacturing company and the I-T department, will pronounce the verdict at 2.15 pm tomorrow.

Nokia India Private Ltd's assets and accounts were frozen by the Income Tax department for alleged income tax evasion by the company.

Nokia's counsel had earlier argued that if the tax row was not resolved by December 12, its Finnish parent company Nokia Corp's deal with Microsoft may land in trouble.

The lawyer told the bench that in a similar tax matter in Brazil, an offer was made to the authorities there in the nature of bank guarantees, but they were only to the tune of 5 per cent of the total tax demand in that country.

Here in India, the company was offering to deposit Rs 2250 crore in cash, the counsel said.

Nokia's lawyer said the Finnish company would be "happy to give" a letter of guarantee for its own liabilities, but not for those of its Indian firm whose assets would be sold to Microsoft post the deal.

Declining Nokia's offer, I-T department had informed the high court that Nokia India's tax liability is over Rs 6,500 crore.