The Indian Income Tax Department has issued a lookout circular (LOC) against Li Xiongwei, CEO of Huawei Telecommunications (India).
An LOC is issued to stop
individuals wanted by law enforcement from leaving the country, alerting border
officials to be on their guard.
Li has now approached the
Delhi High Court to challenge the LOC, which he claims has caused a "huge
blow" to his reputation "as well as to the reputation of Huawei
India," according to media reports.
The
high court has directed the income tax department to provide a reason for not
quashing the LOC within a month. The department has to respond to Li's petition
in the same time period.
Denied boarding
On May 1, Li was prevented
from boarding a flight at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. He
was on his way to Bangkok in Thailand for an official business meeting.
According to the petition, his boarding pass was cancelled, and authorities refused
to provide any reason for the LOC.
The income tax department had
conducted raids in Huawei offices on February 18, 2022, and the LOC for Li was
issued in connection with this.
The incident is the latest
development in a series of issues plaguing the Chinese vendor in India.
Unlike Chinese apps, like
TikTok and Helo, Huawei was not banned after clashes between Indian and Chinese
soldiers in the Galwan Valley in 2020. However, the Indian government has made
it difficult for Huawei to operate here.
Huawei
has not been able to acquire the tag of a trusted vendor, making it almost
impossible for the company to get any new business or benefit from the launch
of 5G. The company was also barred from participating in 5G trials.
While arguing, Li's counsel,
advocate Vijay Aggarwal, said the issuance of the LOC breached the principles
of natural justice. In income tax assessments, undue haste breaks the principle
of fairness.
Therefore, before delivering
any order, the authorities must respond to the objection raised by Li. The
authorities now have until June 25 to respond to Li's petition.
