SJM claims it has accessed income tax documents of alleged wrongdoing against Flipkart that can terminate the $16 billion acquisition deal by the American retail giant.
New Delhi: Opposing American retail giant Walmart’s $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart, RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch has demanded the Modi government stop the deal.
The SJM also claims that it has accessed income tax documents of alleged wrongdoing against the e-commerce firm that it says can terminate the deal.
“The documents took note of the fact that Flipkart boosted its valuation by selling goods at predatory prices and killing competition,” SJM’s national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan told ThePrint.
“This point was noticed first by assessing officers of the income tax department and later by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal,” Mahajan claimed.
Mahajan said SJM is planning to release those documents in a couple of days, and has sought PM Modi’s intervention to stop the deal in the “larger national interest”.
Flipkart has been involved in a dispute with the income tax department over the reclassification of marketing expenditure and discounts as capital expenditure, which is said to involve substantial tax liabilities.
The I-T department had sought Rs 110-crore tax from the e-commerce firm for the year 2015-16 after classifying discounts offered by the company and spending on marketing as capital expenditure.
Flipkart on the other hand, argued that discounts were being treated as tax-deductible revenue expenditure as most online platforms offer discounts to customers as part of their marketing strategy.
The Sangh-backed group — which has opposed issues linked to foreign companies such as GM crops and FDI — had held protests outside a five-star hotel in the capital where Walmart’s CEO Doug McMillon hosted a media roundtable after the Flipkart deal was announced on 9 May.
Mahajan now claims the protests had an effect on the government and that the deal will not move ahead.
“Considering the momentum of our aggression, Modi didn’t meet McMillon. He did not give him an appointment,” Mahajan said.
“Also, Walmart is a tainted company which is fighting a court case in India related to bribery. Why would our PM meet him?” he asked.
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, allegedly paid bribes worth millions of dollars to low-level local officials in India to help move goods through customs or secure real estate approvals, Business Standard reported.
Although industry and commerce minister Suresh Prabhu had confirmed an appointment with McMillon, he cancelled the meeting at the eleventh hour, Mahajan claimed.
“The government respects our objective and sentiments and we are sure that we would be able to stop this deal,” he said.
‘Flipkart is an illegal company’
Mahajan argued there is a high possibility that Flipkart has committed an economic offence in India.
“In August 2017, Flipkart was valued at nearly $10 billion whereas, in April 2018, it was valued at $21 billion,” he said.
“It is surprising how the valuation of the company has undergone such a big change in just eight months. The money-laundering angle cannot be ruled out in this case,” he claimed.