India demands $601M from Samsung in tax debt

The Indian government has demanded that South Korean tech giant Samsung pay a tax debt and fines amounting to $601 million for evading duties on electronic equipment imports.

Report informs via The Economic Times that this tax claim is one of the largest imposed on export companies in India in recent years. The demand concerns a significant portion of Samsung’s net profit of $955 million earned in 2024 from the sale of home electronics, smartphones, and other goods in India.

In 2023, Indian authorities issued a warning to Samsung over the misclassification of imports to avoid customs duties ranging from 10% to 20%. The goods in question were critical components supplied to Indian company Reliance Jio for use in mobile network towers. However, Samsung managed to convince India's tax authorities to drop the investigation at that time.

The investigation has resumed this year, with tax officials presenting what they call "irrefutable evidence" that Samsung violated business ethics in order to maximize profits by deceiving the Indian government.