India Accuses Huawei Of Manipulating Revenue To Avoid Taxes

Tech giant Huawei has been accused of revenue manipulation in India. (Between)

JAKARTA – The Indian government is conducting an investigation into the Chinese technology giant, Huawei. Findings from the investigation led to accusations of tech companies manipulating earnings.

India's Ministry of Finance said a major telecommunications company did not account for revenues of 4 billion rupees (Rp 747.9 billion) on its books and showed expenditures of 4.8 billion rupees (Rp 897 billion).

A Huawei spokesman in India did not immediately respond to the allegations. Last month, India's tax authorities carried out raids on Huawei based in New Delhi. In addition, senior Huawei executives operating in India were also visited by Indian tax authorities.

According to the South China Morning Post, India's Ministry of Finance said further investigations were in progress. The move comes amid rising tensions between India and China following border clashes in 2020 between the neighboring countries.

In February, India blocked access to 54 mobile apps mostly from China, citing security concerns. Globally, Huawei has been at the center of a campaign by the United States, which has called on allies to isolate Huawei from 5G infrastructure over spying issues. The company has denied it is a security risk.

While in India itself, Huawei is not considered as a supplier of 5G networks to operate in one of the largest markets in the world. In addition, Huawei also had to stumble because of the trade restrictions imposed in the global business environment.