Nokia India MD appears before IT Dept on tax evasion case

Expects other two officials from the company to join tomorrow

The Income Tax department which is investigating the alleged Rs 2,500-3,000 crore tax evasion case against Nokia India has started questioning P Balaji, managing director and vice president of Nokia India, according to a senior official from the department.

While the department summoned three management officials from Nokia India, the managing director appeared for questioning today. The department expects the other two officials to join tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the department has almost finished questioning of the auditors from Pricewaterhouse and Company by today evening. However, it has asked two of the four auditors who were responsible for auditing Nokia India's accounts, to appear before the officials on Monday.

The department has started questioning three auditors on wednesday, while another auditor was represented by a lawyer.

It may be noted that the I-T department has conducted survey in Nokia's facility in Sriperumbudur and stated that it has evaded tax to be payed for royalty payment to its parent company in Finland.