Nokia Says India Tax Dispute Won’t Delay Microsoft Deal

Nokia said Friday that it doesn’t see a tax issue in India slowing down the planned sale of its mobile phone unit to Microsoft.

“Nokia would like to stress that recent developments in India related to ongoing tax proceedings are not expected to affect the timing of the closing nor the material deal terms of the anticipated transaction between Nokia and Microsoft,” the company said in a statement. “The transaction is still expected to close in the first quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, irrespective of the proceedings in the Indian tax case.”

While both sides have reiterated their commitment to the deal, the landscape has changed significantly since the deal was announced last September. Microsoft has a new CEO, while rival Google has made plans to shed its Motorola unit, leaving Redmond in the position of potentially being the only major mobile player looking to both make cellphones and license out its operating system.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.