TN govt has no locus standi in Nissan case: Centre to Madras High Court

Chennai: The Union government has informed Madras high court that the Tamil Nadu state government does not have locus standi to challenge the international arbitration proceedings initiated by Japanese automaker Nissan against India over alleged unpaid tax refunds of nearly $770 million.

The Union government stated this in its counter affidavit filed in response to the petition filed by the state government, which sought to stay the arbitration proceedings.

Justice Anita Sumanth before whom the counter affidavit was filed, posted to January 22, further hearing of the case.

In its counter, the Union government said the jurisdiction of the International Tribunal constituted under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) can be decided only by the tribunal itself. The TN government was not even a party to the CEPA, or the claim made by Nissan under the CEPA. For this reason, the TN government does not have the locus standi to maintain an application praying that the international arbitration initiated by Nissan against India be injuncted, the counter added.

The counter said the Union government expresses its hope that it would succeed in terminating the arbitration proceeding by making jurisdictional submissions and causing Nissan to opt for domestic remedies pursuant to the MoU provisions. The Union government was fully prepared to litigate the issues pertaining to jurisdiction before the tribunal promptly, in full confidence that the same would be positively received.

The Union government intends to object to the jurisdiction of the international tribunal on the ground that Nissan has already approached Indian courts due to which remedy under the treaty would now be barred, the counter added.