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Commitments and contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and contingencies Commitments and contingencies
 Capital commitments
 
As of December 31, 2020 and September 30, 2021, the Company has committed to spend $5,128 and $9,609, respectively, under agreements to purchase property, plant and equipment. This amount is net of capital advances paid in respect of these purchases.

Bank guarantees
 
The Company has outstanding bank guarantees and letters of credit amounting to $10,156 and $6,223 as of December 31, 2020 and September 30, 2021, respectively. Bank guarantees are generally provided to government agencies and excise and customs authorities for the purpose of maintaining a bonded warehouse.

These guarantees may be revoked if the government agencies suffer any losses or damages through the breach of any of the covenants contained in the agreements governing such guarantees.

Other commitments
 
Certain units of the Company’s Indian subsidiaries are established as Software Technology Parks of India units or Special Economic Zone (“SEZ”) units under the relevant regulations issued by the Government of India. These units are exempt from customs and other duties on imported and indigenous capital goods, stores and spares. SEZ units are also exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) that was introduced in India in 2017. The Company has undertaken to pay taxes and duties, if any, in respect of capital goods, stores, spares and services consumed duty-free, in the event that certain terms and conditions are not fulfilled.

Contingency
 
In February 2019, there was a judicial pronouncement in India with respect to defined contribution benefit payments interpreting certain statutory defined contribution obligations of employees and employers. It is not currently clear whether the interpretation set out in the pronouncement has retrospective application.
25. Commitments and contingencies (Continued)

If applied retrospectively, the interpretation would result in an increase in contributions payable by the Company for past periods for certain of its India-based employees. There are numerous interpretative challenges concerning the retrospective application of the judgment.

Due to such challenges and a lack of interpretive guidance, and based on legal advice the Company has obtained on the matter, it is currently impracticable to reliably estimate the timing and amount of any payments the Company may be required to make. Accordingly, the Company plans to obtain further clarity and will evaluate the amount of a potential provision, if any.

The Indian taxing authorities (“ITA”) have initiated proceedings to examine the availability of the tax exemption claimed in respect of exports of services and related refunds under the Indian Goods and Services (“GST”) tax regime and the previous service tax regime. In the second quarter of 2020, the ITA began to challenge or reject the Company’s Indian GST and service tax refunds in certain Indian states. In total, refunds of $21,727 have been denied or challenged by the ITA and additional refunds may be denied. The Company is pursuing appeals of the denied refunds before relevant appellate authorities.

The Company had requested these refunds pursuant to the tax exemption available for exports under the previous service tax regime as well as the current GST regime in respect of services performed by the Company in India for affiliates and clients outside of India. In denying the refunds, the ITA have taken the position that the services provided are local services, which interpretation, if correct, would make the service tax and GST exemption on exports unavailable to the Company in respect of such services. Additional potentially material challenges and assessments may result from ongoing proceedings related to service tax recovery.

The Company believes that the denial of the refunds claimed pursuant to the service tax and GST exemption is incorrect and that the risk that the liability will materialize is remote. The Government of India recently issued an administrative circular on the GST matter that supports the Company’s position, and the Company believes that the ITA will reverse their previous orders denying refunds owed to the Company. Accordingly, no reserve has been provided as of September 30, 2021.

An affiliate of the Company in India received an assessment order in 2016 seeking to assess tax amounting to $110,155 (including interest to the date of the order) on certain transactions that occurred in 2013. This amount excludes penalty or interest accrued since the date of the order. The Company filed an appeal against this assessment order with the Commissioner Income Tax (Appeals), the first tax appellant authority in India, which ruled against the Company. Subsequently, the Company filed an appeal with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal of India (the “Tribunal”). The Tribunal has accepted the legal arguments raised by the Company and the assessment order has been cancelled. Certain taxes paid under protest were refunded with interest in the three months ended September 30, 2021. The balance, amounting to $26,839, is yet to be refunded to the Company. The Indian tax authorities may appeal the order of the Tribunal before higher appellate authorities. Based on its evaluation of the facts underlying the transaction and legal advice received, the Company believes that it is more likely than not that this transaction would not be subject to tax liability in India. Accordingly, no reserve has been provided as of September 30, 2021.
In September 2020, the Indian Parliament approved the Code on Social Security, 2020 (the “Code”), which will impact the Company’s contributions to its defined contribution and defined benefit plans for employees based in India. The date the changes will take effect is not yet known and the rules for quantifying the financial impact have not yet been published. The Company will evaluate the impact of the Code on the Company in its financial statements for the period in which the Code becomes effective and the related rules are published.