Mumbai: Cairn India Ltd received a demand of about 204 billion rupees ($3.26 billion) from the Indian tax office on Friday in relation to the 2007 listing of the company.
Cairn India Ltd, a unit of London-listed Vedanta Group Plc, said in a statement to the stock exchanges that it did not agree with the demand and would pursue all possible options to “protect its interest”.
It received the order three days after Cairn Energy Plc , its former parent, said that it had filed a formal dispute against a $1.6 billion demand from the Indian tax department related to the same transaction. Cairn Energy sold its majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta in 2011. The British company`s stake in Cairn India was reduced to about 10 percent after the transaction.
It is the country`s largest private sector crude oil producer. The high-value tax demand on the two companies comes after the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had sought to reduce tax-related litigation and move towards a tax-friendly regime to boost much-needed foreign investment.
