Ending months of speculation, Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart has officially announced its plans to reverse flip and shift its domicile from Singapore back to India.
Confirming the development, a spokesperson for the Walmart-owned company stated, “As a company born and nurtured in India, this transition will further enhance our focus and agility in serving our customers, sellers, partners, and communities to continue contributing to the nation’s growing digital economy and entrepreneurship. We are excited by the opportunities ahead and reaffirm our long-term confidence in India’s future.”
The spokesperson further highlighted that the move is in line with Flipkart’s commitment to India’s growth trajectory, adding, “This strategic decision reflects our deep and unwavering commitment to India and its remarkable growth… This move represents a natural evolution, aligning our holding structure with our core operations, the vast potential of the Indian economy and our technology and innovation-driven capabilities to foster digital transformation in India.”
The announcement follows a report by The Economic Times which noted that Flipkart’s board had approved the plan to relocate its holding company from Singapore to India. As per the report, Flipkart is eyeing a public listing on Indian stock exchanges by 2026.
The company has already initiated its capital restructuring exercise through its marketplace arm, Flipkart Internet Private Limited, the report added.
Earlier this year, Inc42 had reported that Flipkart was actively working towards shifting its domicile to Gurugram as part of its broader preparations for a potential IPO in the next 12–18 months. The ecommerce major has, over the recent months, undertaken significant restructuring across its board and leadership, streamlined its operations, and rationalized loss-making subsidiaries.
However, the transition might come with a significant financial implication. Drawing parallels, Walmart-owned PhonePe had to pay around $1 billion in taxes during its reverse flip to India. Given Flipkart’s last known valuation at $36 billion, its tax outgo could be considerably higher.
Flipkart’s reverse flip aligns with a larger trend among Indian-origin tech companies domiciled abroad that are now moving back to India.
Just last week, fintech major Pine Labs secured the final nod from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to merge its India and Singapore entities. Similarly, in January this year, fantasy sports platform Dream11’s board approved the merger of its US-based Dream Sports Inc with its Indian entity Sporta Technologies Pvt Ltd, utilizing the fast-track mechanism introduced for such transitions. In the same period, Zepto’s CFO Ramesh Bafna confirmed that the quick commerce unicorn completed its domicile shift back to India from Singapore ahead of its IPO.
With its return to Indian shores, Flipkart is positioning itself to tap into the country’s rapidly evolving ecommerce market, poised for significant growth in the coming years