Tiger Global Loses India Tax Case Tied to Walmart-Flipkart Deal in Blow to Offshore Playbook

Tiger Global Loses India Tax Case Tied to Walmart-Flipkart Deal in Blow to Offshore Playbook

Tiger Global Loses India Tax Case Over Flipkart Exit In a landmark ruling with far-reaching implications for global investors, India’s Supreme Court has sided with tax authorities in a high-stakes dispute involving Tiger Global’s 2018 exit from Flipkart during Walmart’s $16 billion acquisition. The decision denies the U.S.-based investment firm treaty protection under its Mauritius-based entity, effectively blocking its attempt to avoid capital gains tax in India. For foreign funds eyeing India’s booming digital economy, this verdict raises fresh questions about the reliability of long-used offshore tax structures—and whether predictable exits are still guaranteed. Credit: Anindito Mukherjee / Bloomberg / Getty Images Why This Ruling Matters for Global Investors At the heart of the case is a decades-old strategy: routing investments through countries like Mauritius to benefit from favorable double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAAs). India and Mauritius signed such a treaty in 1 “to pro…