It is my duty to appeal: FM Sitharaman on Cairn arbitration award

India's sovereign authority to tax cannot be questioned by anybody, she asserts

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday stated the government's stand on appealing the $1.2 billion arbitration awarded which it lost against Cairn Energy, stating that it is her duty to appeal where the country’s sovereign authority to tax is questioned.

“India's sovereign authority to tax cannot be questioned by anybody. And even if it’s an award of arbitration if there is a question about India's sovereign right to tax, I will appeal, it is my duty to appeal,” Sitharaman said.

Sitharaman added that as a sovereign nation, the government of the day will have to question that. “To question