Nokia plant: Foxconn in talks to resolve tax issue with Tamil Nadu government

Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology is in advanced talks with the Tamil Nadu government to resolve a Rs 21,000-crore tax dispute, according to a report by The Economic Times.

The Nokia factory at Sriperumbudur has been defunct for over three years. Foxconn is keen to make the factory operational again, a source told the newspaper.

Operations at the unit stopped in late 2014 after it was left out the deal when Nokia sold its mobile handsets business to Microsoft.

Foxconn did not respond to a request for comments, the report said. But "the plan is to go further in this direction" a source at the company said.

The manufacturing unit had employed 8,000 people when it was operating at full capacity, according to a report by NDTV.

Nokia has been making efforts to sell the plant. Rising Star Mobile India,  Foxconn's India manufacturing arm, has bought production machinery from the Nokia plant for an undisclosed amount, according to the report.

"Earlier this year, Nokia engaged with a buyer interested in purchasing production machinery," a Nokia spokesperson told The Economic Times. "Subsequently, we worked with the respective authorities and secured the necessary permissions for executing the sale of those specific production machinery."

Union Minister Ravi Shankar had said in December that the facility had been abandoned like an "orphan child". He added that the Centre is making efforts to revive the plant's operations.

"We (the government) were on the job... We tried with one-two companies.. It did not work out.. Let me concretise and then disclose it to you... But, we are on the job (to make it operational)." the Electronics and Information Technology Minister said.