Tax row: Nokia welcomes Delhi HC order, says many clearances still left

Buoyed by the Delhi High Court's decision, Finnish handset maker Nokia on Thrusday said it will now start the planned transfer of its Indian assets to Microsoft, but said various statutory clearances are required before the hand-over.

In a major relief to Nokia, the Delhi High Court on Thursday defroze the assets of the Finnish firm in India, including its Chennai manufacturing plant, paving the way for their sale to US-based software giant Microsoft. The court, however, imposed certain conditions on Nokia.

Nokia had earlier pleaded before the high court for a direction to the Income Tax Department for lifting of the stay on transfer of assets in view of its $7.2 billion global deal with Microsoft, which was announced in September 2013.

"Nokia acknowledges the decision by the Delhi High Court today to release Nokia's Indian assets, including its Chennai facility, for the planned transfer to Microsoft," the company said in a statement.

The statement further said: "Our current understanding is that this decision allows for transfer of the assets. However, Nokia has been asked to meet a number of conditions in the ruling and still needs to provide the authorities with additional documentation."

Nokia expects these conditions to be in line with global treaties and practices, it added.

"The company will now start to prepare for the planned transfer of the assets, but notes that there are still a number of statutory clearances that remain before the assets can transfer," Nokia IMEA Director (Communications) Poonam Kaul said.

Nokia repeats its call for the Indian government to work with urgency to facilitate the other approvals needed for the transfer and secure employment for the tens of thousands of employees involved, she added.

"Nokia continues to expect the transaction with Microsoft to close in the first quarter of 2014," Kaul said.