New Delhi (TIP)- FMCG major Nestle India on Thursday, December 19, said the suspension of the MFN (most favoured nation) clause granted to India by Switzerland will have ‘no impact’ on the company. The suspension of MFN status under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) is a policy issue between the government of India and Switzerland and is not ‘Nestle-specific’, the FMCG firm said in a statement.
Nestle India, which owns popular brands such as Maggi, Nescafe and KitKat, said the company was already “deducting 10 per cent withholding tax” on cross-country payments.
Earlier on December 11, the Swiss government had announced the suspension of the MFN status granted to India following a ruling by the Supreme Court of India, which in a judgement last year had said MFN status under the DTAA cannot be enforced unless notified under Section 90 of the Income Tax Act.
This judgement of the apex court had come in a case related to Nestle, where it overturned an earlier order passed by the Delhi High Court in 2021, which had upheld the residual tax rates’ applicability after considering the MFN clause in DTAA.
This has increased the tax liabilities for Indian companies having their operations in Switzerland.
“The matter is not a Nestle-specific issue but is a policy matter between India and Switzerland. We would like to inform you that Nestle India was/is deducting a 10 per cent withholding tax, and this has no impact on Nestle India,” a Nestle India spokesperson said.
India is among the top ten markets of the Swiss FMCG major Nestle SA, where it has been operating for 112 years.
It is investing Rs 6,000-6,500 crore between a period of 2020-2025 in the Indian market to scale up its manufacturing capabilities and others. Source: PTI
Tag: Swiss
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No impact of Swiss withdrawal of MFN status to country: Nestle India
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Swiss order hang gliders to stay away, closing air space as firefighters battle forest inferno
GENEVA (TIP): Swiss authorities have temporarily shut the airspace over a small part of southwestern Switzerland because recreational gliders have endangered the work of emergency teams battling a persistent forest fire in the area. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation said on July 21 that the restriction in an airspace of up to 8,000 feet (about 2,400 meters), over a wooded mountainside near the town of Bitsch, will last a week.
The measure affects civil aircraft and drones and is aimed “to protect the ongoing activities of response teams on the ground and in the air,” the office said on its website.
Office spokesman Christian Schubert, in an email to The Associated Press, said the closure affects about 40-50 square kilometres (about 15-20 square miles) in an area that is popular with recreational gliders.
The heads of local helicopter crews and firefighting squads requested the closure because of the dangers presented by the gliders to what was already risky work, Schubert said. No incidents or injuries have been reported, and the measure was “exclusively of a preventative nature.”
Scores of firefighters, police, troops and other emergency teams, backed by helicopters, have deployed to battle the wildfire that was first reported on Monday. The move prompted authorities to temporarily evacuate residents of four villages and hamlets in the area.
Franz Mayr, a community leader in Bitsch, said the fire remained “small” — some 107 hectares (about 265 acres) have been affected — and the situation was stable, though strong winds continued. (AP)