Essar races against time to complete Rosneft deal

I-T dept non-committal on tax exemption

The Essar group is racing against time to close its blockbuster $13-billion deal to sell Essar Oil’s 98 per cent stake to Russian energy giant Rosneft before March 31 so as to receive capital gains tax bonanza from the local tax authorities. According to new provisions of the India-Mauritius tax treaty, all such transactions would be protected under the treaty only till the end of the current financial year.

Essar officials say they are still awaiting clearances from the lenders and other statutory bodies, and as all clearances are still not in, the deal has not closed as yet. The