Govt  prepared  to  deal with Cairn’s enforcement move

NEW DELHI : The Indian government is filing an appeal against a $1.2 billion arbitration award that British oil major Cairn Energy Plc. had secured in a tax dispute, and is determined to strongly defend any move by the company to enforce the award, said a person familiar with discussions in the government.

“If enforcement proceedings are initiated, India is confident to address them and will strongly defend its interests,” the person said, asking not to be named. The government, however, is open to settling the dispute under the Vivad se Vishwas direct tax dispute resolution scheme.

Emailed requests to Cairn Energy and the Union finance ministry seeking comments on the development remained unanswered at the time of publishing.