Bharti Airtel Trades Flat After Issuing Clarification On Unpaid Taxes

Shares of Bharti Airtel dropped 4%  intraday in morning trade on Tuesday before recovering to trade flat. The shares dropped after the Niger government ordered the closure of Airtel’s Niger arm over unpaid taxes.

Bharti Airtel has issued a clarification for the same in a press note to the exchanges on Tuesday.

Bharti Airtel, in the exchange filing, stated, “In October 2018, an assessment was made relating to Airtel Niger’s taxes. Airtel Niger, based on independent advice, believes that this was done without an appreciation of the facts and law and with undue haste in dismissing the detailed responses submitted by it.”

“This resulted in an astounding demand amounting to approximately 70% of Airtel Niger’s annual revenues,” the telecom major added in the BSE filing.

Bharti Airtel also clarified in the BSE filing that it was committed to collaborative dialogue to resolve the issues and reach a mutually acceptable solution in the interest of its over 4.4mn customers, over 500 direct and indirect employees, and over 50,000 retail shops and outlets.

Bharti Airtel Ltd share price is currently at Rs291.20, down Rs3.1, or 1.05%, from its previous close of Rs294.30 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs 289.50 and has touched a high and low of Rs293.85 and Rs282.25, respectively. So far, 81,40,149 (NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. – IIFL