Anil Ambani Got $162.6mn Tax Waiver From France After Modi’s Rafale Announcement, France’s Le Monde Reveals

New Delhi: Dropping a bombshell and giving more ammunition to the Opposition’s election campaign on ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ (Watchman is a Thief) against Narendra Modi government, French national newspaper Le Monde on Saturday reported that the  French authorities waived taxes worth $162.6 million in favour of Anil Ambani's France-based telecom company named, Reliance FLAG Atlantic France. Anil Ambani's tax debt, the result of a disputed tax litigation, was cleared six months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the 36 Rafale fighter aircraft deal with France in April 2015, the newspaper reported.

As reported by India Today ,the tax dispute, as reported by Le Monde, was settled by the French authorities in October 2015, when India and France-based Dassault Aviation were negotiating the Rafale deal.

Anil Ambani's company was reportedly investigated by the French tax authorities and was found liable to pay 60 million euros in taxes for the period 2007 to 2010. Reliance Atlantic Flag France had offered to pay 7.6 million euros as taxes but the French authorities refused and conducted another investigation, the report said.

Another investigation for the period 2010 to 2012 was conducted by the French authorities and Anil Ambani's company was asked for an additional 91 million euros in taxes.

In April 2015, Modi announced the Rafale deal with France-based Dassault. The report stated that by the time the Prime Minister announced India's deal to buy 36 Rafale combat aircraft in fly-away condition, the total amount owed by Reliance Atlantic to the French state in taxes was at least 151 million euros.

Also read: Rafale Case: SC Reserves Orders on Centre’s Objection to Examining 'Privileged' Papers

However, just six months after Modi's Rafale announcement, the French tax authorities reportedly settled Anil Ambani's 143.7 million euros tax dispute litigation and accepted 7.3 million euros from Reliance as a settlement, instead of the original tax debt of 151 million euros.

According to Le Monde, France decided to forego 140 million euros sometime between February 2015 and September 2015.

The timing of the French tax settlement, if true, raises questions in the context of the larger Rafale deal keeping the controversial deal in spotlight. If the timing of French tax settlement matches, it could mean that the Indian government went ahead and got Anil Ambani’s tax debt waived off and added to the price of 36 Rafale jets to be paid by Indian taxpayers.

Breaking : French authorities waived taxes worth 143,7 million euros for Anil Ambani's French-based company just a few months after PM Modi announced his plans to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault. Our story with @annemichel_LMhttps://t.co/Tpw50cJg0c

— julien bouissou (@jubouissou) April 13, 2019

The newsbreak in the French national daily comes days after the Supreme Court of India, in a setback for the Modi government, allowed the admissibility of the newly published “privileged” Rafale documents in The Hindu, dismissing the government’s argument against hearing a review petition on its earlier ruling on the Rafale deal.

Meanwhile, responding to the Le Monde story, Reliance Communications in a statement published in The Hindu, said the case pertained to 2008 and denied any “favouritism or gain” from settlement.

It said Reliance FLAG Atlantic France SAS was a subsidiary of Reliance Communications, India and owns a terrestrial cable network and other telecom infrastructure in France.  The tax demands were completely “unsustainable and illegal” the statement said, claiming that the disputes were settled “as per legal framework in France available to all companies operating in France.”

Also read: SC Dismisses Centre's Preliminary Objections Against Relying On "Privileged" Documents, Review To Be Heard On Merits

Meanwhile, with campaign in full swing for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, political parties swung into action, trading guns at PM Modi’s claim of being a ‘chowkidar’ in fighting corruption and accusing him of helping his ‘cronies’, as soon as the new revelations by Le Monde came to light.

Prashant Bhushan, one of the petitioners in the Rafale case, along with former BJP minsters Arun Shourie and Yashwant Sinha, tweeted,

So, after French PM Hollande confirmed that Ambani was chosen as Dassault's offset partner for the Rafale deal on Modi's orders, it transpires that French authorities waived off 143M euros (>1000Cr) of tax liability from Ambani's French Company! Chowkidar's crony is a lucky guy! https://t.co/3HmE1vRhsk

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) April 13, 2019

Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) tweeted,

Modi goes to France, compromises national security by signing on fewer aircraft, gives deal to crony Ambani, HAL is kept out.
So the public pays 41% higher amount for fewer aircraft and crony also gets massive tax breaks. Modi formula of helping his rich friends. #RafaleScam https://t.co/LCsoLRpWMU

— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) April 13, 2019

Randeep Singh Surjrwala of Indian National Congress tweeted,

Modiji, you can run and lie as much as you want,

But sooner or later the truth comes out.

The skeletons in #RafaleScam are tumbling out one by one.

And now there is ‘no official secrets act’ to hide behind.
1/2

— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) April 10, 2019