Xiaomi, a Chinese smartphone maker, has denied rumours that it will move its operations from India to Pakistan after the Enforcement Directorate froze its assets worth 5,551.27 crore for allegedly breaking the rules of the Foreign Exchange Management Act.
According to a tweet from South Asia Index, which cited sources, the Chinese mobile manufacturer may move its operations from India to Pakistan after its $676 million in assets were frozen.
“This tweet is completely false & baseless. Xiaomi entered India in 2014 & in less than a year, we embarked on our Make in India journey. 99% of our smartphones & 100% of our TVs are made in India. We’ll take all measures to protect our reputation from false & inaccurate claims”, Xiaomi tweeted in response.
The Chinese mobile manufacturer filed a new petition with the Karnataka high court on Friday, challenging the FEMA competent authority’s September 29 order that had upheld the ED’s April 29 asset seizure order. As punishment for allegedly breaking FEMA regulations and sending money to three companies outside of India under the guise of royalties, the central investigation agency had ordered the seizure of assets.
The Chinese mobile phone manufacturer has contested the appellate order in its petition on the grounds that an official from a foreign bank was not permitted to be cross-examined during the hearing.
Xiaomi’s lawyer argued that since the plea also challenged the validity of Section 37A of FEMA relating to the assets held outside India by a company, the petition was maintainable.
The high court earlier this year permitted the mobile device manufacturer to use the money for its routine business operations but forbade it from using it to pay royalties.
(with inputs from PTI)
