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India to contest Cairn arbitral award, other suits filed by firm: Sources New Delhi has time till March 21 to file an appeal in accordance with a 90-day window
India will file an appeal against the Cairn arbitration award soon and will defend its sovereign rights to tax, sources said a day after Cairn Energy CEO Simon Thomson sought swift enforcement of the over-$1.2 billion award during his meeting with top finance ministry officials. Sources said the government will strongly contest other suits filed by Cairn Energy at various other international courts. The energy major has filed cases in the US, the UK, and The Netherlands over implementation of the December 21 award. Meanwhile, sources said that the government welcomed Cairn's move to reach out for a resolution. However, any dispute resolution to be sought by Cairn will have to be within the already existing laws, they asserted. They emphasised that Cairn had conducted transactions via tax havens to evade taxes. New Delhi has time till March 21 to file an appeal in accordance with a 90-day window. Thomson had, however, sought a meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Before the meeting, Thomson said the firm’s shareholders wanted the matter to be resolved quickly as the ‘award has been granted’. “We are pleased it has come to an end and the award has been granted. Our shareholders want it to be resolved quickly which is why we’re here,” said Thomson.