A loc<\/a>al court has ordered setting aside of the lookout circular (LOC<\/a>) issued against Huawei Telecommunications<\/a> (India) chief executive Li Xiongwei<\/a> by the Income Tax<\/a> (I-T) Department. However, it imposed a condition that in case of his resignation, retirement or cessation of employment, the company shall not release the severance package and other emoluments payable without prior court permission.
In its order, a copy of which was seen by ET, the court said \"there is no ground to keep the LOC open against\" Li and that it \"is liable to be set aside.\" It said Huawei<\/a> is \"not a fly-by-night operator, and considering that it generates considerable revenue from India, it is prudent that a condition be imposed upon payment of salary, bonus, ESOPs and other benefits\" to Li by Huawei<\/a> \"so as to exercise some degree of control over him.\"
Li must submit an undertaking to the I-T Department<\/a> in this regard, following which, the LOC will be revoked within seven days.
Citing the quashing of LOC in the case of journalist Rana Ayyub recently, the court said Li was \"also entitled to equality before law.\" It said Li \"cannot be treated differently solely on grounds of his nationality, and can't be restricted from international travel by issuance of LOC when Indian nationals facing legal proceedings in more serious offences are allowed to travel outside India.\"
Lengthy Legal Proceedings <\/strong>
The order said Li's departure cannot be stated to be detrimental to the sovereignty, security and integrity of India. \"It is also not detrimental to bilateral relations with any other country or to the strategic and\/or economic interest of India. It is highly unlikely that the applicant (Li) will indulge in act of terrorism or offence against Indian state,\" it said. \"Thus, an apprehension that he may leave India and never come back cannot be grounds to keep him in India till the culmination of all legal proceedings.\"
A loc<\/a>al court has ordered setting aside of the lookout circular (LOC<\/a>) issued against Huawei Telecommunications<\/a> (India) chief executive Li Xiongwei<\/a> by the Income Tax<\/a> (I-T) Department. However, it imposed a condition that in case of his resignation, retirement or cessation of employment, the company shall not release the severance package and other emoluments payable without prior court permission.
In its order, a copy of which was seen by ET, the court said \"there is no ground to keep the LOC open against\" Li and that it \"is liable to be set aside.\" It said Huawei<\/a> is \"not a fly-by-night operator, and considering that it generates considerable revenue from India, it is prudent that a condition be imposed upon payment of salary, bonus, ESOPs and other benefits\" to Li by Huawei<\/a> \"so as to exercise some degree of control over him.\"
Li must submit an undertaking to the I-T Department<\/a> in this regard, following which, the LOC will be revoked within seven days.
Citing the quashing of LOC in the case of journalist Rana Ayyub recently, the court said Li was \"also entitled to equality before law.\" It said Li \"cannot be treated differently solely on grounds of his nationality, and can't be restricted from international travel by issuance of LOC when Indian nationals facing legal proceedings in more serious offences are allowed to travel outside India.\"
Lengthy Legal Proceedings <\/strong>
The order said Li's departure cannot be stated to be detrimental to the sovereignty, security and integrity of India. \"It is also not detrimental to bilateral relations with any other country or to the strategic and\/or economic interest of India. It is highly unlikely that the applicant (Li) will indulge in act of terrorism or offence against Indian state,\" it said. \"Thus, an apprehension that he may leave India and never come back cannot be grounds to keep him in India till the culmination of all legal proceedings.\"
The court noted that legal proceedings are likely to take a long time to conclude. It has been six months since the issuance of a letter of request for opening of LOC against Li and the investigation appears to be nowhere near completion, it said.
Flip Side<\/strong>
However, there is a likelihood that Li \"may leave India on the pretext of some business meeting or any personal work and may never come back, but this possibility of absconding is always there whenever any person is admitted to bail in any criminal case,\" the court said.
Observing that Li does not have any movable or immovable assets in India except his bank account, the court said, \"There is little incentive for him to come to India once he leaves the country with an intent to not return.\"
It further said, \"It is also doubtful whether the sureties would be in a position to compel him to come to India should he decide against coming back for facing prosecution in a complaint case or for appearing before the investigating officer.\" In view of the circumstances, the court imposed the condition of withholding Li's cessation package and other benefits if he leaves the firm.
Advocates Vijay Aggarwal and Nagesh Kumar Behl, appearing on behalf of Li, contended that the LOC should not have been opened since it was a non-cognisable offence and bailable. On the other hand, the I-T Department<\/a> had argued that the issue of arm's length price of related party transactions during the course of transfer pricing proceedings was being investigated and it might require re-examination of Li and might also result in filing of subsequent prosecution against the company or its executives. The court ruled that the offence was non-cognisable and bailable.
<\/p><\/body>","next_sibling":[{"msid":93904202,"title":"5 pc rise in cybercrimes in India in 2021, charge-sheeting only in one-third cases: Govt data","entity_type":"ARTICLE","link":"\/news\/5-pc-rise-in-cybercrimes-in-india-in-2021-charge-sheeting-only-in-one-third-cases-govt-data\/93904202","category_name":null,"category_name_seo":"telecomnews"}],"related_content":[{"msid":"93891080","title":"I am a Chinese, not a terrorist: Huawei India CEO to court","entity_type":"IMAGES","seopath":"news\/india\/rider-to-loc-breather-for-huawei-india-ceo\/i-am-a-chinese-not-a-terrorist-huawei-india-ceo-to-court","category_name":"Rider to LOC breather for Huawei India CEO","synopsis":false,"thumb":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/thumb\/img-size-4928\/93891080.cms?width=150&height=112","link":"\/image\/india\/rider-to-loc-breather-for-huawei-india-ceo\/i-am-a-chinese-not-a-terrorist-huawei-india-ceo-to-court\/93891080"}],"msid":93904915,"entity_type":"ARTICLE","title":"Rider to LOC breather for Huawei India CEO","synopsis":"The court said \"there is no ground to keep the LOC open against\" Li and that it \"is liable to be set aside.\" It said Huawei is \"not a fly-by-night operator, and considering that it generates considerable revenue from India, it is prudent that a condition be imposed upon payment of salary, bonus, ESOPs and other benefits\" to Li by Huawei \"so as to exercise some degree of control over him.\"","titleseo":"telecomnews\/rider-to-loc-breather-for-huawei-india-ceo","status":"ACTIVE","authors":[{"author_name":"Raghav Ohri","author_link":"\/author\/479235382\/raghav-ohri","author_image":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/authorthumb\/479235382.cms?width=100&height=100&hostid=268","author_additional":{"thumbsize":true,"msid":479235382,"author_name":"Raghav Ohri","author_seo_name":"raghav-ohri","designation":"Senior Assistant Editor","agency":false}}],"Alttitle":{"minfo":""},"artag":"ET Bureau","artdate":"2022-08-31 16:59:55","lastupd":"2022-08-31 17:00:39","breadcrumbTags":["Huawei","income tax","huawei telecommunications","huawei india ceo","li xiongwei","tax department","loc","i-t department","telecom equipment","Huawei India"],"secinfo":{"seolocation":"telecomnews\/rider-to-loc-breather-for-huawei-india-ceo"}}" data-news_link="//www.iser-br.com/news/rider-to-loc-breather-for-huawei-india-ceo/93904915">