New umpire for old arbitration

The Supreme Court (SC) has appointed its retired justice, Aftab Alam, as a new umpire to decide a two-decade-old dispute between Hyundai Corporation and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) over tax liability because the old umpire decided an issue which was not before him. Hyundai was successful in a tender for two platform facilities for offshore oil exploration. The corporation sub-contracted part of the work to McDermott International Inc, Panama. Later, the government issued a notification extending an income tax Act provision to the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone with retrospective effect. Then a dispute arose as to whether ONGC was liable to reimburse Hyundai for tax payments made to the sub-contractor. The two arbitrators differed on the liability in 1999, leading to the appointment of an umpire. He decided an issue in 2002 which was not referred to him. Setting aside his decision, the SC appointed the new umpire who would decide the correct issues within three months, and there shall be no further appeals to the high court as the case is quite old.