British oil firm Cairn Energy plc has seen its cost of fighting an arbitration against the Indian government imposing retrospective tax nearly tripling in 2018 even as it lost investments and tax refunds pending final award. Cairn, in its latest annual report, said administrative expense towards Indian tax arbitration has risen to $22.9 million (about ₹158.4 crore) in 2018 from $8.1 million (about ₹56 crore) in 2017. The company which gave the country its biggest oil discovery received a notice from the Income Tax Department in January 2014, requesting information relating to the group re-organisation done in 2006.
