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India Tax Samsung $601 Million For Telecom Imports

India has ordered Samsung and its executives in the country to pay $601 million in back taxes and penalties for dodging tariffs on import of key telecoms equipment, a government order showed, for one of the biggest such demands in recent years.

TakeAway Points:

  • India is becoming more stringent in its tariff cases, therefore Samsung will have to pay taxes.
  • The S. Korean behemoth requested to reimburse taxes for imports from 2018 to 2021.
  • According to the company, important communications components are not subject to tariffs.
  • For Samsung phones and gadgets, India is a significant growing market.

India charges Samsung

The demand represents a substantial chunk of last year’s net profit of $955 million for Samsung in India, where it is one of the largest players in the consumer electronics and smartphones market. It can be challenged in a tax tribunal or the courts.

The company, which also imports telecoms equipment through its network division, received a warning in 2023 for misclassifying imports to evade tariffs of 10% or 20% on a critical transmission component used in mobile towers.

It imported and sold these items to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s telecom giant, Reliance Jio.

Samsung pushed India’s tax authority to drop the scrutiny, saying the component did not attract tariffs and officials had known its classification practice for years.

But customs authorities disagreed in a confidential January 8 order that is not public but was reviewed by Reuters.

Samsung’s crime

Samsung “violated” Indian laws and “knowingly and intentionally presented false documents before the customs authority for clearance”, Sonal Bajaj, a commissioner of customs, said in the order.

Investigators found that Samsung “transgressed all business ethics and industry practices or standards in order to achieve their sole motive of maximising their profit by defrauding the government exchequer,” Bajaj added.

Samsung was ordered to pay 44.6 billion rupees ($520 million), consisting of unpaid taxes and a penalty of 100%.

Seven India executives face fines of $81 million, among them the network division’s vice president, Sung Beam Hong, Chief Financial Officer Dong Won Chu and Sheetal Jain, a general manager for finance, as well as Nikhil Aggarwal, Samsung’s general manager for indirect taxes, the order showed.

“The issue involves the interpretation of classification of goods by customs,” Samsung said in a statement, adding that it complied with Indian laws. “We are assessing legal options to ensure our rights are fully protected.”

The incident comes as India toughens oversight of foreign companies and their imports.

Volkswagen and New Delhi are locked in a legal battle in which the automaker is challenging a record demand of $1.4 billion in import back taxes on grounds of misclassifying car parts.

The German company denies any wrongdoing in what it called a “matter of life and death” for its India business, but the dispute has rekindled foreign investors’ fears over tax tussles.

Remote radio head

The Samsung investigation began in 2021 when tax inspectors searched its offices in the financial capital of Mumbai and Gurugram near New Delhi, seizing documents, emails and some electronic devices. Top executives were later questioned.

The Samsung dispute centers on imports of the “Remote Radio Head”, a radio-frequency circuit enclosed in a small outdoor module that tax officials called “one of the most important” parts of 4G telecoms systems.

From 2018 to 2021, Indian officials found, Samsung paid no dues on imports worth $784 million of the component from Korea and Vietnam.

The component fitted on telecoms towers transmits signals and is subject to a tariff, the government said, though Samsung disagreed on how it functions.

Samsung vehemently defended its classification, backed its case with four expert opinions, saying the component did not perform the functions of a transceiver and could be imported without any duty, the tax order said.

As counter evidence, tax officials cited 2020 letters from Samsung to the Indian government describing the component as a transceiver, which the government said is “a device which transmits” signals.

Samsung “was very much aware about the right classification of the impugned goods,” the tax commissioner added.







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Apple Plans To Avoid EU Fines Via Browser Settings

Apple is poised to avoid a potential fine and an EU ruling regarding its browser settings on iPhones after making adjustments to conform with historic EU regulations meant to restrain Big Tech on Tuesday.

Take Away Points:

  • Apple is set to stave off a possible fine and an EU order over its browser options on iPhones after it made changes to comply with landmark EU rules aimed at reining in Big Tech.
  • Apple will hold its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) from June 9 to June 13, it said on Tuesday.

Apple plans to stave off EU fine into browser options

The European Commission, which launched an investigation in March last year under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), is expected to close its investigation early next week, the people said.

It had been concerned that Apple’s design of the web browser screen on its iPhones may hinder users from switching to a rival browser or search engine.

The EU decision will come amid tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump who has threatened to slap tariffs against countries that levy fines against U.S. companies.

The DMA sets out a list of dos and don’ts for Big Tech, aiming to make it easier for people to move between competing online services like social media platforms, internet browsers and app stores and open up space for smaller rivals to compete.

Companies risk fines as much as 10% of their global annual sales for DMA breaches.

The Commission’s decision to close the investigation early next week will come at the same time as it hands out fines to Apple and Meta Platforms for DMA violations and orders to comply with the legislation, the people said.

In this second Apple case, the issue is whether the company imposes restrictions that hinder app developers from informing users about offers outside its App Store free of charge.

The Meta case concerns its no-ads subscription service in Europe in November 2023 that has triggered criticism from rivals and users, with regulators saying the company should offer free alternative options.

Apple to hold Worldwide Developers Conference from June 9

Apple announced on Tuesday that the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) will take place from June 9 to June 13.

The event, accesible online, will highlight updates to the software powering iPhones, iPads and other Apple devices, the company said.

Apple said some developers and students will be invited to attend in person at Apple Park on the opening day.

Investors closely monitor the conference as product enhancements announced during the event could help the iPhone maker attract new customers.

Smartphone makers like Samsung and China’s Xiaomi are jostling for a larger share of the market by adding AI features to their devices and investments in low-end devices.

At last year’s conference, Apple unveiled a range of AI-enabled features that included new capabilities such as rewriting emails and summarizing a cluttered inbox.

Recently, the company said that some AI improvements to its voice assistant, Siri, will be delayed until 2026, without providing an explanation. The iPhone maker had previously indicated the features would come in 2025.

Apple said it will share additional information about the conference through the Apple Developer app and the WWDC25 website.







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Anthropic Prevails In AI copyright Challenge Against Music Publishers

Anthropic, an artificial intelligence startup, persuaded a federal judge in California on Tuesday to dismiss a preliminary motion to prohibit it from training its AI-powered chatbot Claude using lyrics that belonged to Universal Music Group and other music publishers.

TakeAway Points:

  • Artificial intelligence company Anthropic convinced a California federal judge on Tuesday to reject a preliminary bid to block it from using lyrics owned by Universal Music Group and other music publishers to train its AI-powered chatbot Claude.
  • U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee rejected the publishers’ argument that Anthropic’s use of their lyrics caused them irreparable harm by diminishing their licensing market.
  • Dell Technologies headcount fell by 10% in fiscal 2025, and it reaffirmed its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Anthropic and music publishers

U.S. District Judge Eumi Lee said that the publishers’ request was too broad and that they failed to show Anthropic’s conduct caused them “irreparable harm.”

The publishers said in a statement that they “remain very confident in our case against Anthropic more broadly.” An Anthropic spokesperson said the company was pleased that the court did not grant the publishers’ “disruptive and amorphous request.”

Music publishers UMG, Concord and ABKCO sued Anthropic in 2023, alleging that it infringed their copyrights in lyrics from at least 500 songs by musicians including Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys.

The publishers claimed Anthropic used the lyrics without permission to train Claude to respond to human prompts.

The lawsuit is one of several arguing that copyrighted works by authors, news outlets, visual artists and others have been misused without consent or payment to develop AI products.

Tech companies including OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta Platforms have said that their systems make “fair use” of copyrighted material under U.S. copyright law by studying it to learn to create new, transformative content.

Fair use is likely to be the determinative question in the lawsuits, though Lee’s opinion did not specifically address the issue.

Lee rejected the publishers’ argument that Anthropic’s use of their lyrics caused them irreparable harm by diminishing their licensing market.

“Publishers are essentially asking the Court to define the contours of a licensing market for AI training where the threshold question of fair use remains unsettled,” Lee said.

Dell’s workforce drops 10% in fiscal 2025

Dell Technologies, maker of AI servers, announced on Tuesday that its workforce had decreased by 10% in fiscal 2025 and that it was reaffirming its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The company in its annual report said it had about 108,000 employees as of January 31, down from about 120,000 a year earlier, as it continued to take measures to reduce costs, including limiting external hiring and employee reorganizations.

The company also retained the language on diversity and inclusion. “We are committed to equal employment opportunity and continuing to implement inclusive policies that enable Dell Technologies to achieve these goals.”

President Donald Trump has called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives discriminatory and suggested the Department of Justice could investigate if such efforts violate the law.

Companies including Meta and Alphabet have dropped DEI initiatives.

Dell reported a decline of about 5% in its workforce in fiscal year 2024.

In February, the company forecast a decline in its adjusted gross margin rate for fiscal year 2026, hit by higher costs to build AI servers in a fiercely competitive market.







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