Oppo India gets a ₹4,389 cr tax notice
PremiumThe finance ministry said the notice issued last Friday also proposes certain penalties on the company, its employees and its parent Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. Ltd.
NEW DELHI : The tax department has demanded ₹4,389 crore from Oppo Mobiles India Pvt. Ltd, the Indian unit of the Chinese cellphone maker, after investigating suspected alleged customs duty evasion by the company.
A finance ministry statement on Tuesday said the notice issued last Friday also proposes certain penalties on the company, its employees and its parent Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp. Ltd.
The ministry said Oppo has voluntarily deposited ₹450 crore “as partial differential customs duty short paid by them".
In a statement, Oppo Mobiles said it has a “different view" on the charges made by the authorities in the show cause notice (SCN).
“We have a different view on the charges mentioned in the SCN. We believe it’s an industry-wide issue many corporates are working on. Oppo India is reviewing the SCN received from DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence), and we are going to reply to the notice, presenting our side, and will be working further with the related government departments. Oppo India is a responsible corporate and believes in a prudent corporate governance framework. Oppo India will take appropriate steps as may be needed in this regard, including any remedies provided under the law."
The DRI, which investigated the matter, has demanded ₹2,981 crore, alleged Oppo India availed duty exemption benefits that it wasn’t eligible for, and evaded paying duty related to royalty and licence fee payments to various multinational companies, including those based in China, totalling ₹1,408 crore, the ministry said.
Such ‘royalty’ and ‘licence fees’ paid by Oppo India were not being added to the transaction value of the goods imported by them, in violation of the Customs Act, the ministry said.
The ministry claimed that senior management employees and domestic suppliers of Oppo India were questioned, who, in their voluntary statements, accepted the submission of alleged wrongful description before the customs authorities at the time of import.
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DRI conducted searches at the office premises of Oppo India and residences of its key management employees, the ministry said, adding that evidence indicating alleged wilful misdeclaration in the description of certain items imported by Oppo India for use in the manufacture of mobile phones was detected.
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