I-T conducts survey on Nokia

Sources in the department said the survey operation was conducted at the company's premises in the Tamil Nadu capital (under section 133 of the I-T Act) and few other locations in the country will be brought under this action.

When contacted, a Nokia spokesperson said in a statement to PTI, "Earlier today, tax officials visited Nokia's manufacturing unit in Chennai. Nokia is fully cooperating to ensure they get the necessary information to help in their inquiry.

"As a global company, Nokia consistently fields a large and steady number of tax queries, audits and assessments. Nokia's commitment to being a good corporate citizen is firm and unwavering. We always observe applicable laws and rulings in the countries where we operate. This has been a core principle of our operations in India, where Nokia has been present since 1995."

During a survey operation, I-T sleuths visit only official premises of a firm for investigation.

Sources said the I-T department is looking for some alleged mismatch in payments made by the company under the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) category.

A team of about 30-40 I-T sleuths is involved in the operation, sources said.

Nokia led Indian mobile market with 22.2 per cent market share during first half of 2012 where 102.43 million handsets were sold, a CyberMedia Research said.