Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Nokia threatens to abandon business in India amid tax battle

Published Aug 23rd, 2013 8:05PM EDT
Nokia Tax Fine India

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

In response to tax issues Nokia is currently having in India, the company has threatened to pull its manufacturing business out of the country. Authorities in India recently raided a Nokia factory following allegations that the company had failed to pay as much as $542 million in taxes owed to the Indian government. Nokia refuted the massive tax bill, however, and it didn’t pull any punches in a recent letter to India’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry. “India has suddenly become the least favourable market,” Nokia said in the letter. It continued, “The political risk of operating in India [is] suddenly substantially higher and may inevitably influence future decisions to develop one’s operations in India.” The letter, portions of which were published on Friday by The Indian Express, stated that it might make sense for Nokia to shutter its operations in the country and move its business to China. The Indian Express noted that Nokia’s tax bill now amounts to 20 million rupees, or roughly $316 million.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.