Practo, the health startup, is being investigated for supposed tax evasion

BENGALURU: Practo, the healthcare startup, is supposedly being investigated by the authorities to look into whether it has evaded tax through a cross-border corporate restructuring.

The company has been summoned to explain the discrepancies between the different valuations.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review website, the tax authorities searched Practo’s offices in Bengaluru and seized company records in late May. The company did not respond to the queries sent by ET.

Practo had raised $55 million in a Series D funding led by Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent, in January. The company has raised $179 million till date. The latest round valued the company around $600 million.

These assets, including its website, domain name, software codes and trademarks, were sold to Singapore-based Practo Pte Ltd. for $600,000 in August 2014.

The gap between the value of Practo's intellectual property in 2014 and the company itself a year later caught the attention of the tax department, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Practo Pte. Ltd.,was incorporated in Singapore in 2012. Practo can challenge the findings, if need be.