Tiger Global Ruling: Pre-2017 Investments via Tax Havens Under Taxman's Lens

• The Supreme Court ruled that Tiger Global's $1.6 billion Flipkart stake sale to Walmart is taxable in India, impacting pre-2017 investments.
• The ruling fundamentally alters the interpretation of tax treaty benefits, potentially exposing grandfathered foreign investments to scrutiny.
• A Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) alone is no longer sufficient to claim capital gains tax exemption under the India–Mauritius tax treaty.
• Tax authorities can now examine the substance of arrangements, looking beyond the TRC, to determine genuine residency and treaty eligibility.
• The decision could affect other tax treaties (Singapore, Cyprus) and raises concerns about unsettling settled law and creating uncertainty for foreign investors.

Why It Matters: Supreme Court's Tiger Global ruling makes pre-2017 investments via tax havens taxable, altering tax treaty benefits.