Wipro gets tax demand for $59.79 m

BANGALORE: Wipro Ltd., India's No.3 software exporter, said on Monday it had been served a notice by the country's income-tax authorities to pay 2.62 billion rupees ($59.79 million) for the year to March 2002 on the grounds that it was not eligible for a tax break.

A spokeswoman of New York-listed Wipro told Reuters that the company would appeal against the claim which was similar to one it had received earlier for 2000/01 in which tax authorities had rejected Wipro's claim for tax exemption.

"The company maintains the demands are not sustainable and decided to appeal (against them)," the spokeswoman quoted a statement made by Bangalore-based Wipro to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

India's tax laws exempt export profit of software companies from income-tax, but these are subject to conditions that occasionally give rise to dispute over their interpretation.