India’s top court has ruled against Tiger Global in a tax case stemming from its Flipkart exit during Walmart’s 2018 takeover, a decision that strengthens New Delhi’s ability to challenge offshore treaty structures and could raise tax risk for global funds counting on predictable exits from one of the world’s fastest-growing major markets.
On Thursday, the Indian Supreme Court backed the tax authorities in a dispute over whether Tiger Global could use its Mauritius-based entities to claim protection under the India–Mauritius tax treaty and avoid paying capital gains tax in India on profits linked to its exit in the Walmart–Flipkart deal. The decision set aside a 2024 Delhi High Court ruling that had overturned a 2020 order by the Authority for Advance Rulings, which had found the firm was, prima facie, avoiding tax and therefore not eligible for treaty relief.
The ruling is being closely watched by investors, as it strengthens India’s hand in challenging offshore “treaty-routing” structures that have long been used to reduce tax on high-value exits. It could also raise uncertainty over how future cross-border deals are structured and priced, at a time when foreign funds are counting on India as a key growth market.
In its verdict, a two-judge bench said (PDF) that when a transaction appears, at first glance, to be designed to avoid income tax, India’s advance-ruling mechanism cannot be used to seek protection.
Tiger Global first invested in India’s e-commerce firm Flipkart in 2009 with an initial $9 million investment, before increasing its exposure to about $1.2 billion over multiple funding rounds, TechCrunch had reported earlier. The firm later sold its stake to Walmart for about $1.4 billion in 2018.
The tax dispute centers on how Tiger Global structured that investment — through entities in Mauritius — and whether tho …