Bharti under lens for non-payment of tax

NEW DELHI: The I-T Department has slapped a demand of Rs 50 crore on leading private telecom company Bharti Airtel for non-payment of taxes on interest paid on loans taken by it and allegedly furnishing wrong information to the tax department.

Bharti has contested the claim, but has also paid more than Rs 40 crore to the department, an I-T department official said.

The Indian firm was accused of non-payment of taxes on the interest paid by it on loans procured from ABN Amro Bank Stockholm Branch, the official said.

Contesting the claim of the tax department, Bharti spokesperson told PTI that it was in full compliance of the interim orders passed in this case and awaits finality through the defined legal process.

The telecom firm had informed the I-T department that interest on loans from ABN Amro Stockholm branch were exempt from taxation in India as per the India-Sweden tax treaty but the department found that the lender (ABN Amro) was a tax resident of the Netherlands, thus holding the company's claim for exemption to be incorrect.

Bharti had claimed that the interest payment was exempt from taxes as the loan was guaranteed by the Swedish Export Credit Guarantee Board, but the information was found incorrect as the authorities found that Bharti Tele-Venture, a holding company of Bharti stood guarantee for the loan.