Cairn to drop cases in $1bn refund offer

Cairn Energy Plc is considering settling a protracted tax dispute with the Indian government that will fetch the UK oil explorer tax refunds totalling $1.06 billion.

On Tuesday, the company said it is considering entering into statutory undertakings with the government of India under a new law, clearing the way for the release of its assets seized since 2014.

The refund will allow Cairn Energy to return funds to its shareholders through dividends and stock buybacks and further expand its business, the company said.

Cairn Energy is the first of the 17 companies with pending retrospective tax disputes to publicly agree to settlement terms proposed by India to drop the tax demands.