India's large-scale tax inspection of Chinese companies in India, China's Ministry of Commerce: Worried about India's investment climate

Recently, the Indian tax department carried out a large-scale stationed tax audit of Chinese enterprises in India, and Gao Feng, spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, responded on January 27 that China is concerned about this and is worried about India's investment environment.

According to reports, India's Ministry of Finance issued a statement on January 5 saying that Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi had "tax evasion" in local companies in India, requiring it to recover a total of 653 million rupees (about $88 million) in taxes between April 2017 and June 2020. Xiaomi subsequently denied this, saying that Xiaomi insisted on legal and compliant operations around the world and complied with the relevant laws and regulations of the place of operation. Xiaomi said that the Indian authorities' request for retroactive taxes has nothing to do with Xiaomi's recent business.

In the Indian tax department's "tax storm", Chinese mobile phone brands have become one of the most obvious targets. India's Minte newspaper website reported that Xiaomi and OPPO, two Chinese mobile phone companies, may pay huge fines for "tax evasion".

According to the data, four of the top 5 brands in the Indian smartphone market in the third quarter of last year came from China - Xiaomi, Vivo, Realme and OPPO. Xiaomi is the most popular smartphone brand in the Indian market, with a market share of up to 23%. Chinese mobile phone brands are sought after in the Indian market, and their market share far exceeds that of Local Indian brands.

In this regard, Yang Yishuang, associate professor of the Indian Ocean Regional Research Center of Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, once told the Global Times reporter that this improper crackdown for the purpose of protecting domestic industries may affect the confidence of Chinese enterprises to further expand investment in the Indian market.

Gao Feng pointed out on the afternoon of the 27th that Chinese enterprises investing and operating in India have created a large number of employment opportunities for India and made positive contributions to India's economic development. Gao Feng stressed that he hopes that the Indian side can provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese-funded enterprises in India.