Government denies charging Huawei Technologies with fraud

Thursday, 28 August 2008, 16:28 IST
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New Delhi: The government Tuesday said it has not charged Chinese telecom company Huawei Technologies with employing Chinese workers in India without proper work permits. "Attention of the government has been invited to a report published in a section of the press regarding a purported notice given by the Ministry of Labour and Employment to a firm namely Huawei on the alleged violations of various labour and employment regulations of the country," a government statement said. "In this regard it is stated that no such notice has been issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment," it added. Huwaei, which manufactures telecom equipment in China and sells globally, including in India, has a reserach and development centre in Bangalore. Reports in the media Tuesday said the ministry issued Huawei a notice Monday, accusing it of committing serious legal and financial violations, including tax frauds. Even before the ministry issued the formal denial, a top company official told IANS his company was investigating the "authenticity" of the letter. "We have 200 Chinese staff who have come to India on a valid business visa and who leave the country within the prescribed time limit once the discussions are over," the official said requesting anonymity. He termed it as "a trick" to create a "scare" in the market so that Huawei loses out on upcoming bids for telecom tenders floated by various service providers. "We will speak to the Labour Commissioner and tell him that someone probably is misusing the letterhead of the ministry," the official said. After the ministry issued the statement, he said he was relieved. "We had never flouted norms and knew things will be fine."
Source: IANS