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.
Bharti Airtel Chairman and Managing Director Sunil Bharti Mittal, Vodafone Plc CEO Vittorio Colao, Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas and Idea Cellular Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Wednesday met ministers and senior government officials to present the industry's concerns over telecom regulator Trai's proposals on the auction of spectrum.
Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) CEO Ravinder Takkar did some plain speaking. In an analyst call after its quarterly results recently, Takkar said that the main stumbling block to raising fresh capital from investors is "pricing" - telecom tariffs, in other words. Nine months ago, the telecom company's board had cleared a proposal for raising Rs 25,000 crore from investors, after the promoters made it clear that they were not ready to pump in more money. But potential investors are concerned that without clarity on tariff hikes (there have been none for more than 18 months) they might just lose their money. The lack of visibility on raising tariffs has also impelled VIL to request the Department of Telecom (DoT) for a fresh reprieve by extending the two-year moratorium on paying its spectrum instalment of Rs 8,200 crore for another year till FY23.
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.
Country accounts for 38% of telco's global user base, 10% of total revenue
Hutchison Telecom, the Hong Kong- based mobile major, on Tuesday said its first-half profits ended June have risen from the sale of its Indian assets to UK's Vodafone that included a one-time gain of Hong Kong dollars 69.3 billion.
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 brand integration not only marks the completion of the largest telecom merger in the world, but will also set the company on its future journey to offer strong digital experiences to 1 billion Indians on its 4G network.
The British mobile phone operator was widely expected to go for an international arbitration after its talks with the Indian government failed to find a solution last year.
The world's largest mobile operator by revenue has begun the year on a bold note, backing the initial public offer plans of its Indian unit and sources say the ball has already been set rolling.
Piramal owns an 11 per cent stake in Vodafone India.
The 64-year-old German, who has spent nearly four decades at Philips and around 10 years in the top position, will retire from the company on March 31 and will also be appointed as non-executive director at Vodafone on April 1.
Delaying GAAR is seen as a move partly designed to help solve Vodafone dispute.
Five months before the put option window closes, JP Morgan has come out with a report stating that Essar's stake in Vodafone Essar is around $2 billion, which is far less than what the shareholder agreement between the two companies in 2007 envisaged.
Vodafone Group Plc Chief Executive Vittorio Colao today said the company could list its Indian arm and was open to acquisitions when opportunities are available in the country. The head of the world's largest mobile company in terms of revenues suggested changes in the regulatory regime for mergers and acquisitions.
According to the CEO of an Indian group with presence in the telecom segment and two merchant bankers, the Mexico-headquartered telco's bankers have been sounded out for preliminary discussions with leading Indian telecom companies for a strategic tie-up.
The company says the reminder does not include a deadline for payment.
Vodafone is facing tax liability over its $11 billion acquisition of a 67 per cent stake in the mobile-phone business owned by Hutchison Whampoa in 2007.
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.
Reliance Industries, construction major L&T and IRB Infrastructure are some of the top companies that have used an infrastructure investment trust structure to reduce part of their debt and generate returns for their investors. Earlier this month, IRB Infrastructure InvIT was listed on the National Stock Exchange, giving its investors an option to exit by selling their units. The listing came within months of the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) guidelines for conversion of private unlisted InvITs into listed ones were issued.
The foreign investment regulator cleared a decision on Vodafone Group Plc's $1.6 billion plan to take full ownership of its local unit.
This is the single largest foreign investment in India so far.
It emerges that Vi has probably offered good data quality despite being short on spectrum and infrastructure due to its stretched finances. Did the two companies that merged face the heat due to price wars? Probably. Did the government's tough stance in demanding its "due" share of telecom revenues hurt the company? Certainly!
"As someone who was born and raised in India, I recognise the urgent need for our youth to be empowered from a knowledge perspective. We believe the Foundation will become an effective catalyst in this regard, Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Arun Sarin said.
IBM, Nokia Oyj, Microsoft cases could now be resolved
After their merger Vodafone Group CEO, Vittorio Colao says India is not a Jio market alone. Aditya Birla Group CEO, Kumar Mangalam Birla says Vodafone is dominant in metro cities, while Idea is a big player in urban, semi-urban markets.
The Bombay High Court had last week dismissed Vodafone International's petition challenging the Indian tax authorities demand of Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion) in tax over the Hutchison deal.
The Indian government has asked a federal court in Washington to dismiss Britain's Cairn Energy suit seeking enforcement of a $1.2 billion arbitral award, saying it had sovereign immunity under US law. Cairn had in May asked a US federal court to force Air India to pay a $1.26 billion arbitration award the firm had won in December. The government on August 13 filed a 'Motion to Dismiss' petition in the US District Court for the District of Colombia, saying it lacked subject matter jurisdiction in the dispute between Cairn and the Indian tax authority, according to a filing seen by PTI.
A court ruled in favour of Vodafone on Friday in a long-running dispute with the Indian taxman, a boost for the British telecom group whose tax battles have been seen as emblematic of the troubles facing foreign investors in India.
Vodafone Group Plc won the Indian cabinet's approval for its $1.6 billion deal to buy out minority partners in its unit in the country, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said on Thursday.
The police had filed charges in December against Bharti Airtel and Vodafone's India unit.
Vodafone's revenues for the third quarter have gone up by 16%, thanks to good performance in emerging markets including India.
The investment was committed to by Vittorio Colao, CEO of Vodafone Group Plc.
The price offered is about a quarter of the value set by the govt in an auction that was scheduled for March 2013 but never took place.
If he bets big, billionaire Mukesh Ambani will emerge from this week's airwave auction armed with spectrum that could make his Reliance Industries Ltd a formidable rival to market leaders Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone Group.
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.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated discussions with banks to address financial stress in the telecom sector, particularly Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) that urgently requires fund infusion to stay afloat. There was a meeting of DOT officials and senior bankers on Friday on the issue of Vodafone, sources said, adding that banks have been asked to look for a solution within the prudential guidelines. According to sources, senior officials from the country's biggest lenders State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were also present among others in the meeting. More such meetings are expected to take place in the coming days, they said.
The move to sell the jewel in Vodafone's crown closes a heady expansionist chapter for one of Britain's most famous companies
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances