India’s top court has ruled that Tiger Global’s $1.6-billion stake sale in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart to Walmart in 2018 is subject to taxes, handing a win to New Delhi in a landmark ruling on use of international tax treaties by companies.
Keenly watched by foreign investors, the legal dispute relates to how the U.S. investment firm used the India-Mauritius tax treaty to claim tax exemptions and New Delhi’s fierce objections to it. The ruling will have implications for how India applies tax principles in cross-border deals.
Tiger Global and Indian tax authorities were locked in a legal tussle over its 2018 stake sale in Indian e-commerce company Flipkart to Walmart worth 144.4 billion rupees ($1.6 billion). The deal was part of the U.S. retail company’s $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart that year.
The stake sold at the time, 17% according to local media reports, was held by Tiger Global’s units in Mauritius.
While Indian tax authorities argued Tiger Global wrongly used the India-Mauritius tax avoidance treaty to not pay any tax on its profits, the investment firm argued it can do so as the treaty exempted such a transaction.
The tax authorities say the Tiger Global Mauritius units served merely as a conduit for Tiger Global U.S. – a description the investment firm says is incorrect.
The Supreme Court has been hearing the case since January 2025 as Indian tax authorities challenged a previous Delhi High Court ruling that was in favour of Tiger Global and found no wrongdoing.
Walmart competes with Amazon in India‘s thriving e-commerce market, where online shopping has boomed in recent years. Walmart has previously not commented on the matter.
Reuters
