M&A deals of Genpact, AT&T under tax scanner

The government today said it was examining various cross-border mergers and acquisitions, including deals by Vodafone, Genpact, Barclays, Intelnet, Sanofi and AT&T, to understand their tax implications.

“A few cases relating to cross-border merger and acquisition deals have been identified for further examination by the revenue department. These deals are being examined for possible tax implications,” Minister of State for Finance S S Palanimanickam told the Lok Sabha.

The finance ministry is also collecting information on domestic deals where there is a possibility of tax avoidance or tax evasion. Among the international deals, the most crucial is the $11.2-billion deal of Vodafone International Holdings with Hutchison Telecom in 2007 for acquiring the latter’s stake in Hutchison Essar.

Palanimanickam also said the revenue department was looking into the deal between New Cingular Wireless Services with AT&T Mauritius for acquiring Idea Cellular.