New Delhi, Jan. 16 -- The Supreme Court judgement in the case of Tiger Global's tax liability has, contrary to expectations, gone against the assessee and in favour of India's revenue authorities.

The brief facts are as follows. In 2009, Tiger Global, a private equity firm, had invested in the Singapore-based holding company of e-commerce major Flipkart, and then increased its exposure over the next two years to about $1 billion-a 20% stake.

In 2017, it began monetizing its investment by selling part of its holding to SoftBank Group, and in 2018, it sold most of its shares to Walmart. This sale triggered the tax dispute.

The holding structure was complex. It was Tiger Global Mauritius (TGM) that held equity in Flipkart Singapore, which...