Telecom operators Vodafone and Idea Cellular on Monday said they will resume 3G services in circles where they don't have spectrum through intra-circle roaming (ICR) pacts with other operators.
Last year, the finance ministry had sent a reminder notice to Vodafone to pay Rs 14,000 crore (Rs 140 billion) of income tax dues, which the telecom major said it didn't owe. Later, it offered conciliation.
The fine is based on the loss estimated by internal committees of DoT to the national exchequer due to violation of licence norms by Vodafone.
India's top three GSM mobile operators, Bharti, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have joined hands to set up an independent tower company, Indus Towers, that aims to share passive infrastructure with all telecom players to enable lower cost and a more competitive operative environment.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has asked UK-based Vodafone Group, which is facing a tax liability of over Rs 11,200 crore in India, to give its view on the long-pending matter in writing, a senior official said.
Vodafone Essar on Thursday said it has crossed the 100-million subscriber mark in India, becoming the third mobile operator in the country to do so after rivals Bharti Airtel and Reliance communications.
To avail the benefit, customers will have to SMS 'BETTER' on 199 and the 10-minute talk time will be credited
The Vodafone India head said hope is high now with the new government coming with a strong mandate and he is sure that the new government will quickly start to address some of the blocking factors for stronger economic growth.
Bharti Airtel on Thursday submitted its bid for 3G spectrum, auction for which starts from April 9.
Vodafone has rejected a restructuring call by an activist investor lobby that would have unlocked up to $75 billion to shareholders, saying such business strategies could have prevented it from recent acquisitions such as Hutch-Essar in India.
The airship will offer Vodafone customers a chance to be seated in the spacious deck and enjoy a leisurely journey of the scenic terrain beneath.
Market concentration in the country's telecom sector continues to scale new heights despite government bailouts of public-sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), and private-sector Vodafone Idea. The combined revenue (or net sales) share of the country's top two telecom operators - Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio - in the sector's total reached an all-time high of nearly 72 per cent in FY23 from 70.4 per cent in FY22 and around 60 per cent in FY20. The net sales of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel India were Rs 1.67 trillion in FY23, up 18.6 per cent from the Rs 1.4 trillion a year earlier.
Opening another line of inquiry into the Hutch-Essar shareholding structure, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) is looking into the call options that would together give Vodafone a further 15.03 per cent proportionate indirect equity owner
In its reply to the tax reminder notice sent by the revenue department last week, Vodafone had said it believes it is not liable to pay tax for its $11.2 billion acquisition of Indian telecom business of Hutchison Whampoa.
The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone on a BSNL petition, seeking that the private telecom operators pay interconnection charges, along with penalty, for transferring to its network their calls that did not identify phone numbers.
Government approval for British telecom giant Vodafone's takeover of Hutch-Essar now depends on whether the two minority stakeholders in the company can prove through documents that they are not acting as benami shareholders for Hutchison.
Ahead of Thursday's Foreign Investment Promotion Council meeting that would take up sale of stake in Hutch-Essar to Vodafone, the UK company's director Mathew Kirk met telecom secretary Dinesh Mathur on Wednesday.
Vodafone offers to buy out Hutchison Telecom's stake in India's Hutch-Essar at an enterprise value of $17 to 18 billion reports British daily Financial Times.
The government has in-principle approved refarming (shifting) of spectrum and was waiting for Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's recommendations in this regard to start the process and formalise it as part of the new telecom policy.
Bharti Airtel will start talks for "disengagement" from its partner Vodafone once the UK company decides on its future course of action in India.
The department had recently sent a tax reminder notice to the British telecom major.
In the case, which will begin on Tuesday and last for five days, Indian tax authorities will argue that Vodafone, the UK-based mobile phone group headed by Arun Sarin, is liable for an estimated $2bn in taxes on its $11bn acquisition of local operator, Hutchison Essar, last year.
Bombay High Court will hear Vodafone Essar's case on tax for 10 working hours from March 10.
Vodafone 3G plans now start from Rs 25 for 25 MB data usage and go up to Rs 1,599 for 12 GB data usage.
British telecom giant Vodafone's plans to acquire India's fourth-largest mobile operator Hutch-Essar has received mixed reactions from some of its key shareholders.
The company had moved court on a showcause notice from the I-T Department, quantifying a tax liability of Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion), which could include a penalty, on account of Vodafone not deducting tax from the payment made to Hutchison for acquiring the latter's stake in an Indian telecom venture.
Vodafone India revenues, which includes standalone, its subsidiaries and proportionate consolidation of Indus Towers (42 per cent), stood at Rs 15,510 crore (Rs 155.1 billion) in the same period last year.
Nine million subscribers opt for mobile number portability in first three months of its launch.
Telecom major Vodafone Essar on Monday launched its new bonus card, which will help subscribers send 100 local and national SMS or make local/STD calls for 8 minutes, at a price tag of Rs 4.
British telecom giant Vodafone Group on Tuesday posted 14 per cent growth in operating earnings from India's business to 1.12 billion pounds (about Rs 9,749 crore) for 2011-12 helped by rising customer base and strong growth in voice-call minutes.
The bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia directed Vodafone to deposit Rs 2,500 crore within three weeks and a bank guarantee of Rs 8,500 crore within 8 weeks.
Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill; Will introduce a white paper on black money in current session: FM
Vodafone India on Tuesday reported an 11.7 per cent growth in its revenue at Rs 20,746.9 crore (Rs 207.46 billion) for the April-September period of this fiscal on the back of data revenues, customer additions and stable pricing.
UK telecom giant Vodafone has alleged that its Indian joint venture partner, the Essar group, may be involved in violation of insider-trading regulations. The dispute between the two came into the open after Essar proposed a reverse merger of group company Essar Telecom Holdings (ETHPL) into listed entity Indian Securities (ISL).
The department had sent a notice to the company seeking details and clarifications on a host of issues besides the original agreement between Hutch and Vodafone to establish the jurisdiction of the tax authorities to determine the tax liability. This follow an SC order in January 2009 to the effect that Vodafone should present its case to the tax authorities first and submit a copy of the share purchase agreement, the deadline for which expires by the end of this month.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget speech on Monday, announced a new dispute resolution mechanism for such companies who are in confrontation with the taxman's action.
The Bombay high court, in a very significant ruling on Wednesday, dismissed telecom major Vodafone International's petition challenging the Income Tax department's show cause notice for payment of capital gains tax of around $2 billion.
The chief of the British telco's Indian subsidiary, which is the second largest cellular operator in India, also said the recent decisions by telecom authorities have disappointed the sector.
Petition, filed by a lawyer, is likely to be heard next week.
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