Tullow Oil wins $313m from Heritage in Ugandan tax dispute In a statement, Tullow said: "Tullow sought an indemnity from Heritage under the [Sale and Purchase Agreement] in respect of this $313m payment... In his judgment, Mr Justice Burton found in favour of Tullow's indemnity claim for $313m in its entirety and also dismissed Heritage's counterclaim. Tullow said there would be a further hearing to decide the amount of interest Heritage owes Tullow and legal costs. Heritage said it "strongly disagreed" with the High Court's decision and that "Tullow's original payments to the Uganda Revenue Authority were commercially motivated rather than as the result of a valid legal obligation." It said it would now consider whether to appeal. Heritage remains in dispute with the Ugandan government over whether capital gains tax was due. Heritage argues it is not liable to pay the tax because the CGT regime was different when it signed its initial contract to explore in Uganda. Heritage emphasised that Friday's High Court ruling was "not ruling on the fundamental legality of the imposition of the tax by the Uganda Revenue Authority, and it has no bearing on the outcome of the international arbitration proceedings against the Ugandan Government in London, which are ongoing." It added: "Appeals to the Ugandan High Court in respect of the tax assessments are pending. Heritage's position remains, based on comprehensive advice from leading counsel, legal and tax experts, that this retrospectively placed tax, with no precedent, is not valid. Heritage has already placed $283.4m in escrow. Combined with the $121.5m already paid to the Ugandan Government, Heritage said "substantially all of the cash has been reserved" and the judgment therefore did not impact on its current cash position.