Walmart confirms it paid most of $1 billion in taxes to move PhonePe headquarters to India

Walmart late on Wednesday confirmed that it had already paid the Indian government the bulk of nearly $1 billion (around Rs 8,300 crore) in tax owed after digital payment company PhonePe, which the US retailer owns through Flipkart, moved its headquarters from Singapore to India. .

Walmart bought a majority stake in Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart in 2018, giving it ownership of PhonePe. The company said last month that it had completed the separation of PhonePe from Flipkart, adding that it would remain a controlling shareholder in both companies.

“Walmart has already paid most of the Rs 7.8 trillion that has been incurred in capital gains tax after PhonePe investors sold their stake in the Singapore entity and invested in the entity. India following the change of domicile,” a source with direct knowledge of the matter had told Reuters.

Tiger Global, an existing investor in PhonePe, was not required to pay the tax, the source said.

Walmart gave no further payment details. PhonePe did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters seeking comment on Thursday.

Moneycontrol reported last year that PhonePe was raising funds at a valuation of $12 billion (around Rs 99,300 crore) in a round led by General Atlantic. The fintech was last valued at around $5.5 billion (about 45,500 rupees) in December 2020.

Bloomberg News previously reported that Walmart and other PhonePe investors are expected to pay nearly $1 billion (about Rs 8,300 crore) after it relocates.

In December, it was reported that Flipkart and PhonePe had completed their separation and both entities would continue to operate under Walmart.

“As part of this transaction, existing shareholders of Flipkart Singapore and PhonePe Singapore, led by Walmart, purchased shares directly in PhonePe India. This completes the move to make PhonePe a fully Indian-domiciled company, a process that began earlier this year. the company said in a statement at the time.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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