A dispute over alleged unpaid dues between Japan's mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo, and the Tata group could involve the latter's assets in Britain, according to a UK media report on Thursday.
The Japanese firm has served an order from London’s Commercial Court against Tata Sons which allows DoCoMo to enforce an arbitration deal, made in London in June, against Tata Sons' assets in the UK, 'The Financial Times' reported.
Tata Sons, the Indian conglomerate's holding company, owns a 29 per cent stake in Tata Steel, which includes embattled UK steel units, and a 23 per cent in Tata Motors, which includes the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) brands in the UK.
The latest development follows DoCoMo's rejection of Tata Sons' offer to deposit USD 1.17 billion — a penalty awarded by an arbitration panel — with the Delhi High Court registrar.
The dispute relates to DoCoMo's exercise of its right to exit from Tata Teleservices — its joint venture with the Tata Group.
DoCoMo had decided to exit Tata Teleservices in 2014 as its JV’s performance was not up to the mark and had given Tata 90 days to find a buyer.
With Tata failing to find a buyer for DoCoMo’s stake in the JV, DoCoMo had exercised its right to seek a buyback option.
The Tata Group, however, could not repay the amount as the Reserve Bank India (RBI) felt it would violate the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema) norms. The Japanese firm initiated arbitration proceedings, which ruled in favour of DoCoMo and fined the Tata Group USD 1.17 billion.
The 'Financial Times' said a person close to Tata said it was unlikely that DoCoMo would be able to seize assets belonging to Tata Steel and Tata Motors as they were listed companies owned mostly by outside investors. DoCoMo declined to comment on the report.
