The SC has gone a step further to state that even if one were to not apply the codified GAAR provisions, the judicial GAAR would continue to apply, point out Pranav Sayta and Bhargav Selarka.
App-based communication services providers and Indian telcos are at loggerheads over the SIM-binding directions issued by the department of telecom, which are to be complied with by the end of February 2026.
Few people have left the kind of imprint on India's advertising canvas as Piyush Pandey. An observer who seemed to know what made the country tick, a man who could find humour in life's everyday struggles and spin magic from it, one who understood that to reach the masses you needed to communicate with them in their language and context -- he was all of this and more.
IPOs have been the flavour of the season for some time. But the coming together of three mega IPOs, from diverse businesses and historic relevance, could tell a story that's still in the making, points out Nivedita Mookerji.
A landmark tax case between Vodafone of the UK and the Indian government that is set to determine the future climate for mergers and acquisitions in the country began on Monday.
Dutch subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings BV on Tuesday severed a notice of dispute on the Indian government regarding proposals in the Finance Bill 2012 which it claimed violated the international legal protections granted Vodafone and other international investors in India.
Issues related to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and bilateral investment treaty between India and the UK are expected to figure during the three-day visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to London from April 8-10, official sources said. The minister will attend a host of meetings, including the India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue, in London.
India has challenged in a Singapore court a verdict of an international arbitration tribunal that overturned its demand for Rs 22,100 crore in back taxes from Vodafone Group Plc, sources said on Thursday. An international arbitration court had on September 25 rejected tax authorities' demand for Rs 22,100 crore in back taxes and penalties relating to the British telecom giant's 2007 acquisition of an Indian operator. Two sources privy to the development said India had 90 days to file an appeal against the tribunal award, and the same was done in a Singapore court earlier this week.
On January 20, the court allowed Vodafone's appeal and had quashed the Bombay High Court verdict which had upheld the decision to levy tax on the overseas deal.
Vodafone is locked in twin tax disputes with the government.
Bombay High Court had earlier dismissed a petition filed by Vodafone and ruled that the tax office had jurisdiction to tax its 2007 deal.
Vodafone case: Questions still remain unanswered and the whole world is eyeing final outcome. The questions remaining unanswered by the high court would have several multinationals on tenterhooks, as the consequences, both for tax payers with similar transactions and perhaps for Indian M&A fortunes may be far reaching.
British telecom giant Vodafone Group plc on Friday won an arbitration against the Indian government over a demand for Rs 22,100 crore in taxes using retrospective legislation.
The revenue department, sources said, will pursue the tax demand along with accrued interest and penalty.
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.
Petition, filed by a lawyer, is likely to be heard next week.
Hutchison Essar is an Indian Company, the controlling interest of Hutchison Essar is held by an SPV of Cayman Island (CGP Investments Holding Ltd). CGP is owned by Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL), Hong Kong.
The government may be waiting for the outcome of an arbitration initiated against its levy of Rs 10,247 crore retrospective tax on UK's Cairn Energy Plc before deciding on appealing against losing a tax case against Vodafone Group, sources said. An international arbitral tribunal is expected to give a decree within next few days on Cairn Energy Plc's challenge to the Indian government seeking Rs 10,247 crore in retrospective taxes. If the arbitration award in the Cairn cases goes against India, the government has to pay the British firm over Rs 7,600 crore to reverse the dividend and tax refund it had ceased and shares it sold to recover part of the tax demand.
The Bombay High Court has dismissed Vodafone petition challenging the show cause notice issued by income tax department asking them to pay over $2 billion tax on the multi-crore Hutchinson takeover deal.
The manner in which India has allowed the rule of law to be subverted for over eight years is tragic, notes former additional solicitor general of India Bishwajit Bhattacharyya.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday deferred till August 2 the hearing on an appeal filed by Vodafone International challenging income tax department's decision to levy tax on the company for acquiring stake of Hutchison International in Hutchison-Essar in a $11.1 billion deal in February 2007.
The Department of Telecom, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Economic Affairs had to give their comments on the proposal, sources said.
A bench headed by Justice S B Sinha refused to hear the Vodafone plea that had challenged the Bombay high court judgment, which on December 3 last year had dismissed a petition by Vodafone International Holdings BV, contesting a showcause notice by the I-T department. Vodafone, Netherlands-based company, had bought a 67 per cent stake in Hutchison Essar from Hutchison Telecom International in February 2007 for $11.2 billion.
The last time these two indexes recorded a negative performance on a calendar year basis was in CY19.
India's income tax department today said it would scrutinise more than a dozen cases of offshore mergers and acquisitions in which the deal results in an ultimate change of ownership of Indian firms. The latest move by the tax department comes in the background of a favourable ruling from the Bombay High Court yesterday in a case filed by Vodafone International Holding BV.
While it was technically not possible to block the deal, the tax department could resort to arm-twisting.
The Supreme Court had ruled in Vodafone's favour in 2012.
The government, however, amended the tax laws with retrospective effect to undo the Supreme Court judgement and claim taxes.
The Finance Ministry has already circulated a draft Cabinet note withdrawing the conciliation offer to Vodafone to resolve the Rs 20,000-crore (Rs 200-billion) tax dispute case.
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.
Supreme Court Chief Justice SH Kapadia has ruled on Friday that the tax deparment has no jurisdiction over Vodafone's purchase of mobile assets in India.
.jpg)
Faced with over Rs 11,200 crore (Rs 112 billion) tax liability, Vodafone India chief Analjit Singh on Thursday met Finance Minister P Chidambaram for the second time this week and expressed the hope that there will be clarity soon on the proposal to settle the dispute through conciliation.
Vodafone further said it has "always been confident" that no tax is due on the company. The government in August enacted a law to end all retrospective taxation imposed on indirect transfer of Indian assets. The rules under the law seek to withdraw tax demands made using a 2012 retrospective legislation to tax the indirect transfer of Indian assets and also refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest. Asked if the company has filed an application with the Indian government to settle the retrospective tax dispute, a Vodafone spokesperson said, "We can confirm we have filed an application".
On Wednesday, in a significant ruling that may result in $2 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) flowing into government coffers, the Bombay high court had dismissed a writ petition filed by telecom major Vodafone International Holdings BV challenging the Income Tax (I-T) Department's jurisdiction to assess whether the over $11 billion Hutchison-Vodafone transaction was liable for capital gains tax.
The British telecom major has disputed the tax demand over its acquisition of 67 per cent stake in Hutchison, now called Vodafone India, arguing that no tax was due as the transaction was conducted offshore.
The IT department had issued a tax assessment order in December 2011 asking Vodafone to add Rs 8,500 crore (Rs 85 billion) to its taxable income, thus raising the tax liability of the company.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Monday deferred a decision on Vodafone's Rs 10,141 crore (Rs 101.41 billion) proposal to buy out minority shareholders in its Indian arm as the Ministry of Home Affairs is yet to give its comments.
A bench headed by Justice H L Dattu, however, allowed the petitioner, former Additional Solicitor General Bishwajit Bhattacharyya, to file fresh petition with all the relevant documents stating what action Centre has so far been taken on the issue.
The arbitration of any court is legally binding and the government) can approach the Singapore high court.
Recently, the government had appointed former Chief Justice of India R C Lahoti as arbitrator in the tax dispute case.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances