UK PM David Cameron may fly in to Shell India tax row
Oil company Royal Dutch/Shell has asked the British government to raise the subject of a tax dispute with India during Prime Minister David Cameron's visit there next week, according to a source familiar with the request.
The dispute blew up earlier this month when tax authorities revalued by $2.7 billion a 2009 transaction by Shell with a wholly-owned subsidiary, and claimed a tax payment was due.
It comes as India seeks to balance its need to shore up its finances by raising tax receipts with its desire to encourage foreign investment.
The Anglo-Dutch oil group's run-in with tax officials follows a long-running $2 billion India n tax claim on British mobile telecoms group Vodafone which has dented foreign investor confidence in the country.
Finnish phone maker Nokia earlier this week became the latest international company to protest against an India n tax investigation.
The amount claimed from Shell was not specified, and an India n tax official told Reuters it would be confined to interest on that amount.
Shell has responded vigorously to the tax claim, which was revealed initially in press reports.
"Taxing the money received by Shell India is, in effect, a tax on foreign direct investment, which is contrary not only to law but also to the spirit of the recent global trip by the finance minister," Shell India Chairman Yasmine Hilton said on Feb. 4.
Shell's India n presence goes back 80 years and, like other big oil companies, it has its eye on the country's growing market for
