NEW DELHI: Chinese internet company ByteDance, the parent firm of TikTok, received some relief from the Bombay High Court on Tuesday. The court permitted the company to operate its Indian bank accounts, that had been frozen by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities over alleged tax evasion, after depositing a sum of Rs 78.91 crore in a state-run bank the quantum of tax claimed.
A bench of Justices SP Deshmukh and Abhay Ahuja ruled that ByteDance could operate its Indian accounts after it deposited the money towards the demand raised by GST authorities in any state-run bank.
The Indian indirect tax department has held that ByteDance evaded taxes and had not paid its GST dues in full, a charge denied by the Chinese firm. It’s popular social video app TikTok had been banned in India last year.
ByteDance had gone to the courts last month denying all allegations and seeking various reliefs, including challenging the provisional attachment order freezing its bank accounts in India. Its advocates argued that since its bank accounts had been frozen, the company had been unable to pay salaries to its Indian staff