India denies link between Reliance tax relief in France and fighter jet deal
Congress Party has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of corruption in choosing company as a domestic partner in the deal to buy aircraft from Dassault Aviation
New Delhi — A French media report linking a tax exemption given to a French subsidiary of India’s Reliance Group and an $8.7bn fighter jet deal between the two countries is “totally inaccurate”, India says. French newspaper Le Monde reported on Saturday that France waived a tax demand of €143.7m on a French subsidiary of Reliance Communications in 2015 when it was negotiating to sell the jets to India. The longstanding tax dispute was resolved between February and October that year, Le Monde said. India’s ministry of defence said on Saturday the report was drawing a conjectural connection between the tax relief and the jet deal. “Neither the period of the tax concession nor the subject matter of the concession relate even remotely to the Rafale procurement concluded during the tenure of the present government,” the ministry said. “Any connection drawn between the tax issue and the Rafale matter is totally inaccurate, tendentious and is a mischievous attempt to disinform.” Alexandre...
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