The Delhi High court on Wednesday gave Nokia a temporary respite by asking the tax department to reexamine the tax evasion case and not to take any coercive action against the handset maker till then.

The Indian tax authorities, on March 21, slapped Nokia's Indian subsidiary with an income tax notice of Rs 2,058 crore for alleged evasion of taxes.

The Finnish handset maker's Indian division then moved the High Court, which on March 22 granted an interim stay and asked the tax authorities to file their reply.

Yesterday, a bench headed by Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed, sent the matter back to the I-T Commissioner for fresh examination, and asked the department to decide the matter before May 31.

The bench also ordered the tax department not to take any action against the handset maker until the matter was resolved.

Nokia welcomed the ruling and claimed, "Nokia remains willing to cooperate fully with Indian tax authorities in accordance with all applicable laws."

The tax evasion case pertains to royalty payment made against supply of software by the handset maker's parent company. The tax department alleges that Nokia had been putting the software into its mobile phones at its Chennai and Gurgaon-based production site, without paying tax for that.