The retrospective taxation, introduced by then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in 2012 as an amendment to the Income Tax Act, proved a costly policy misadventure
On June 11, the French court had ordered Cairn Energy's take-over of Indian government properties, mostly comprising flat; and the legal process got completed on Wednesday evening.
In December last year, Cairn won an award that held the levy of taxes using the 2012 law unfair on the company and the tribunal asked the Indian government to return $1.2 billion plus cost and interest.
Cairn on May 14 filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking declaration of Air India as the 'alter ego of Indian government' by virtue of control and as a state-owned company
Cairn has already moved courts in the US, UK, Netherlands, Canada, France, Singapore, Japan, UAE and Cayman Islands to get the December 21 international arbitration tribunal award registered and recognised
Cairn, which on this day seven years back was first slapped with a retrospective tax assessment, is three-fourth owned by world's top investors with $529 billion MFS Investment Management of US being its largest investor with 14.02% stake
The three-member tribunal, which comprised a judge appointed by India, last month unanimously overturned a Rs 10,247 crore retrospective tax demand on the British oil and gas company