A British-based telecommunication giant Vodafone said Friday it had offered to settle a multi-billion- Dollar tax dispute with India after the government scrapped a law that saw it claim huge sums from Multinational firms.
Major firms including Vodafone and British oil producer Cairn Energy successfully challenged the tax claims in international arbitration tribunals, although New Delhi refused to accept the rulings. It finally repealed the legislation in August, and it is expected to return the taxes it has collected if firms agree to withdraw their legal claims and not sue for damages.
Vodafone confirmed in a statement emailed to AFP it had filed an application to settle the dispute. They have always been confident that no tax liability arose in respect of our acquisition of the Indian business, and this was borne out by the decisions of the Supreme Court of India and the International Court of Arbitration. This telecom dispute arose from the British giant’s acquisition of one of India’s largest mobile phone operators, Hutchinson Essar, in a 2007 deal.
New Delhi has allegedly reported some 200 billion rupees in past taxes, according to a boomerang news report in August. Scottish-based Cairn Energy said in early November that it would end its tax dispute with India to allow for the refund of Rs. 79 billion ($1.06 billion) was collected from the firm.
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