British foreign secretary says India reassured on tax cases

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, speaking after talks in India's capital, said he had raised concerns over a $1.6 billion tax case involving British oil explorer Cairn Energy Plc and had been assured there no other such cases.

Cairn Energy earlier this week filed a formal dispute against a demand for more than $1.6 billion from the Indian tax department, in the latest high-profile tax row to hit Asia's third-largest economy.

The latest dispute comes after the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had sought to reduce tax-related litigation and move towards a tax-friendly regime to boost much-needed foreign investment.

 

"The tax demand made to Cairn was very unwelcome," Hammond said after talks with Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Frank Jack Daniel)