Supreme Court to hear govt plea against Sesa Sterlite deal

The Supreme Court on Monday decided to hear an application filed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the IT department against the Sesa Sterlite merger.

The MCA called into question the nature of the arrangement alleging that it was a 'colourable device' designed to evade taxes. The MCA and the taxman argued that the merger allowed for defunct, loss-making entities and units to be merged with Sesa Goa to lower the tax outgo.

The taxman argued that Sesa Sterlite, after the merger, had sought tax refund of Rs 1600 crore citing combined losses of the merged entity. The SC will hear the matter for final disposal on April 28.