Time to move on

Govt should end its retrospective tax disputes

The Union finance ministry and UK-based oil major Cairn Energy have had two rounds of high-level discussions on the resolution of the retrospective tax dispute, which has dragged for almost a decade. In December last year, a tribunal ruled the government’s demand violated the UK-India bilateral investment treaty, and recently Cairn Energy has begun the legal process in the US to implement that tribunal’s decision. The government here is at risk of having some of its assets abroad impounded to pay Cairn Energy the $1.2 billion it owes. However, it appears in no mood to relent — some reports have