Uber in India
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This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
The Uber Files and India
2013-17
Uber Files
July 12, 2022: The Times of India
Even as it lobbied politicians and flouted rules in its global push, Uber tried to pin the blame on India’s “flawed” licensing system for not adequately verifying the antecedents of the driver who raped a 25-year-old passenger in Delhi in 2014. This was revealed in ‘The Uber Files’, a set of leaked confidential information accessed by The Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). It includes 1,24,000 internal emails, text messages and documents from Uber.
A spokesperson for Uber did not deny the contents of the report but said that those culminated five years ago in “one of the most infamous reckonings in the history of corporate America” — referring to the events that led to resignation of founder Travis Kalanick as CEO. She said the company had changed its practices since 2017.
India is mentioned several times in the report, which is now being called Uber Files. David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s successful 2008 presidential campaign and who joined Uber as the head of global branding, communications and policy in 2014, is said to have met top government officials in several countries, including India, where Uber was waging regulatory battles.
ICIJ said the “kill switch” was deployed on many occasions, including at least once in India. This refers to the disconnection of local computers from the company’s servers to prevent authorities from seizing sensitive compa- ny documents during raids.
India was one of Uber’s fastest growing markets and the company told employees in India to expect disruptions from competitors and regulators. “Embrace the chaos,” the company’s top executive in Asia said in a message.
But since its launch in India, they were at loggerheads with several Indian authorities on tax and pricing issues. The ICIJ documents showed Allen Penn, Uber’s former Asia head, wrote to the India team in August 2014: “We’ve definitely made a splash in our first year in India…We will likely have both local and national issues in almost every city in India…That’s life running a business at Uber. ”
Intense scrutiny in India
July 13, 2022: The Times of India
Bengaluru:The Uber Files’ expose by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) suggests that Uber came under intense scrutiny from the RBI, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), and Indian tax authorities.
The very year it launched in India (2014), the ridehailing company was served with a service tax notice in Mumbai. Axel Martinez, then VP and treasurer of Uber, is said to have written to the firm’s brass, “Authorities want Uber to open their books, otherwise, we are facilitating fraud. They have summoned RG (Ryan Graves, then senior VP, global operations, at Uber) & TK (then CEO Travis Kalanick). Penalties and warrants for arrest are next. ” The note went on to say, “Ne-
gotiate with the tax authority the ability to collect and remit payments on behalf of our drivers, while limiting our liability. ”
The ICIJ files also showed that in 2014, an email sent from Manash K Neog of Chase India, a Delhi-based public policy and advocacy advisory firm, to Mark Fielding, consultant with FIPRA, a Brussels-based firm that advises Uber on policy, said, “We can offer Uber to deal with RBI and other related regulatory bodies here. This issue can get bigger from here for Uber. ”
Last year, the Director General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence investigated Uber India and claimed tax liability outstanding of Rs 800 crore. The CCPA has served notice on Uber for arange of deficiencies.
