Nokia tax bill may jump to Rs 10Kcr, draws plant sale plan

Nokia has received a memorandum of understanding from a bidder interested in its locked-out Chennai plant -- which has become a casualty of a Rs 3,500-crore tax claim -- the company told Delhi High Court today.

The Finnish company told court that it was open to depositing sale proceeds from the plant in court should the tax case go against it and added that that would also allow for appointing an independent valuer to make sure a sale is conducted at the best value.

But the income-tax department said that it was not in favour of allowing any sale till the company furnished bank guarantees to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore, and in an important revelation, the department further claimed that a draft of its order had been framed, and that the final tax bill may go up to Rs 10,000 crore.

The court told the tax department that the latter should be open to the idea of appointing a valuation expert to ascertain the value of the Chennai plant and also suggested that it could consider auctioning the plant with the current offer price serving as the base price.