Finnish telecom company Nokia, whose handset business was recently acquired by the US-based Microsoft, has assured India that it would continue its operations in the country as before.
In a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday, Nokia Executive Vice-President (Devices & Services) Stephen Elop also called for early resolution to its tax dispute here.
Revenue officials had imposed a Rs 2,000-crore tax notice on Nokia for non-payment of taxes on payments made by the MNC’s Indian arm to its parent, for the use of its software in handsets made in India.
“The principal reason for my visit is to reassure and provide complete support for trade efforts here in India. As you know, there are changes underway at Nokia. What we were talking here today is our continued commitment to all the work that we are doing here in India,” Elop told journalists after his meeting with Sharma.
Microsoft agreed to buy Nokia’s mobile handset business for $7.2 billion last week.
The deal is likely to be completed in early 2014, with Nokia employees getting transferred to Microsoft. There has already been a change in the leadership team with Elop, who was President and CEO of Nokia, stepping down and taking over as EVP of the devices and services unit.
Despite Nokia’s falling share in the global mobile market, it remains a big player in India.
While Samsung held a 31.5 per cent share in the handset market here, Nokia accounted for 27.2 per cent, in terms of revenue, according to industry estimates.
Elop explained the modalities and implications of the takeover to Sharma, a Commerce Department official told Business Line .
He also said that it was important for Nokia to sort out the tax dispute at the earliest.
Our Chennai Bureau adds: Elop also visited the company’s plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Sources confirmed the visit but declined to give details.
amiti.sen@thehindu.co.in