Cairn Energy confirms India to appeal ruling in $1.2bn tax case

India has appealed against an order by an international tribunal to pay $1.2bn damages to Cairn Energy in a long-running tax dispute, the company said on Tuesday.

Cairn in December was awarded the money, plus interest and costs, taking the current total to more than $1.7bn. The Indian government had said previously it would challenge the order.

"Cairn has full confidence in its position. As previously advised, Cairn will continue to take all steps necessary in order to protect the interests of its shareholders," the company said in a statement.

The appeal was filed in a Dutch court. The initial tribunal ruling agreed unanimously that India had breached its obligations to Cairn under the U.K.-India Bilateral Investment Treaty.

India last September lost another international arbitration case against Vodafone over a $2bn retrospective tax dispute.

Cairn took the case to arbitration in 2015 to fight against a demand in 2014 from Indian authorities for INR 102bn ($1.4bn) in taxes it said were owed on capital gains related to the 2007 listing of its local unit.

In 2011, Cairn sold its majority stake in Cairn India to Indian miner Vedanta, reducing its stake in the Indian company to about 10%.

The government seized the remaining shares in 2014 after the tax complaint was made, as well as dividends Vedanta owed to Cairn Energy for its holdings in the Indian firm.

Source: lse.co.uk

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE.