Nokia

The Madras high court ordered Nokia to deposit Rs 240 crore as a deposit against the tax department's claim of Rs 2,400 crore against the Finnish mobile phone maker. Its sales from a Chennai factory are subject to a tax demand, which it claims is without merit, and that it won't be able to make the deposit within eight weeks due to cash flow issues.

The high court has also asked the Tamil Nadu government to reconsider its demand in the meantime. Senior counsel Arvind P Datar and Luthra & Luthra partner Vikas Srivastav are representing Nokia. [Economic Times]

Luthra & Luthra is defending Finnish cellular giant Nokia’s Indian subsidiary Nokia India in its Madras high court writ contesting the Tamil Nadu VAT department’s claim and in the Supreme Court against a Rs 2,250 crore sales tax guarantee.

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia (whose smartphone business is in the process of being sold to Microsoft though held up by a Rs 3,500 crore guarantee imposed by the Supreme Court in another transfer tax case) has filed a writ in the Madras high court to contest a claim by the Tamil Nadu VAT department.

The tax office is claiming that devices manufactured in Chennai were not exported but in fact sold in India, and therefore subject to Rs 2,400 crore sales tax. Nokia said in a press release that the claim was "absurd" and "completely without merit and counter to domestic tax laws... and Nokia has proved consistently that devices produced at Chennai are exported abroad" [Business Standard]

Nokia forced into Rs 2,250 cr tax guarantee by SC: The Supreme Court today ordered Nokia to give a Rs 2,250 crore ($368m) guarantee before it can transfer one of its mobile phone factories to Microsoft, which bought the Finnish mobile maker last year with the acquisition held up by the tax dispute with the Indian government [Bloomberg]

ML Sharma strikes again, hits Ranbaxy: Controversial advocate and serial petitioner Manohar Lal Sharma has succeeded in getting the Supreme Court to issue notice to Ranbaxy Laboratories in a PIL against the pharma company alleging it sold tampered and ineffective drugs in India. Sharma cited a recent order in the US against Ranbaxy [Mint]

Law students fast for action against Sri Lanka: 12 Tiruchi government law college students have begun an indefinite fast demanding that India move a resolution in the United Nations against Sri Lanka, for alleged war crimes [The Hindu]

Dec 16 convicts to hang: Del HC: The Delhi high court upheld the death sentence of the four Delhi December 16 gang rape convicts, dismissing their appeal for commutation of the sentence to life term [The Hindu]

Amarchand is battling on in Punjab & Haryana for telecommunications company Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) in its attempts to sue state-owned telecoms operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) over a Rs 30,000 crore ($6bn) contract.

Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co litigation partner Ritu Bhalla is leading the NSN team, which has today filed another petition against BSNL with the Chandigarh High Court in Punjab & Haryana.