Samsung Challenges $520 Million Tax Fine in India

The company is seeking to overturn the decision, citing Reliance’s practice.

Samsung has filed a lawsuit in India seeking to overturn a $520 million tax penalty it was slapped with for allegedly misclassifying imports of telecom equipment. Samsung claims that Indian tax authorities knew about the practice because Reliance had similarly imported the same components over several years.

Indian tax authorities have accused Samsung of evading duties of between 10% and 20% on imports of key mobile tower equipment it supplied to telecoms giant Reliance Jio from 2018 to 2021. The company responded by saying that Indian authorities were aware of the business model because Reliance had used the same scheme before 2017 without paying duties.

Samsung also claims that it was not properly notified of possible violations because Reliance failed to pass on information about the tax authorities’ warnings. In response to the allegations, Samsung also claimed that it was not given enough time to protect its interests during the investigation.

Indian authorities also imposed $81 million in fines on seven Samsung employees, bringing the total tax claims to $601 million.

Source: Reuters

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