Flipkart is planning to move its domicile back from Singapore to India, as per a report by the Economic Times. Valued at $33 billion, the company is one of the biggest firms with its domicile in a foreign country.
While details are not known, it's expected that the Walmart-owned e-commerce platform will pay a lump sum of tax to move back to India. As per the report, Flipkart is in discussion internally with senior leadership to shift its domicile back. The company aims to act on the plan in the upcoming months, according to the report.
“This could also prove to be a challenging and multi-layered process, given Flipkart’s scale and the multiple entities involved that run its e-commerce business in India. But they want to move domicile here,” as per a source talking to the Economic Times.
The report says that the company’s aim to move its domicile back to India is ahead of its IPO plans. While people in the know are saying that Flipkart doesn't want to go public this year, the report says, “Recent consumer company IPOs have shown the appetite for large consumer businesses on domestic bourses, and the consideration to move its holding company to India is part of that. Flipkart has been sharpening its strategies to get to profitability.”
Flipkart, which acquired PhonePe in 2016, separated its ownership. Further, PhonePe also moved its domicile back to India from Singapore. During that time, Walmart paid around $1 billion in local taxes for the shift.
Several start-ups have been trying to shift their domiciles to India. The report says that one of the reasons for the same is that India has been a bright spot compared to global markets. Last week, financial services firm Groww shifted its domicile back to India from the USA.
"As of March 2024, Groww has completed its domicile transition back to India. For our customers, we have always been an India-based organization for all practical purposes since day 1. With this update, the Groww group and its subsidiaries are completely based in India," said Founder and CEO Lalit Keshre of Groww. Other companies that are trying to move their domicile back to India include PineLabs, Zepto, and Meesho.
