Vodafone Idea (Vi) stated through a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday that it plans to appeal against a Rs 16.73-crore Goods & Services (GST) demand order it has received from the Deputy Commissioner of the Large Taxpayer Unit of West Bengal.
Vi stated that the GST order was received on February 27, 2025, under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The order was “passed under Section 73 of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 read with West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 confirming a penalty of Rs 16,73,33,489 along with demand and interest as applicable,” the Vi filing stated.
The Vi filing mentioned that the tax demand pertains to “alleged excess availment of Input Tax credit, short payment of tax, etc” and that its maximum financial impact “is to the extent of tax demand, interest and penalty levied.”
Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea (Vi) officially announced in Mumbai on Friday that it has switched on its 5G network in Mumbai for a trial run, before its full fledged commercial launch around Holi, which falls on March 14.
Vi is also expected to launch its commercial 5G service in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Patna in April 2025.
“Vi 5G is currently in its trial phase in Mumbai. This marks a major milestone in our journey to bring next-gen connectivity to our customers. During this trial phase, a select group of Vi consumers will experience high-speed 5G connectivity firsthand,” according to Vi’s official spokesperson.
The 5G trial phase will allow select users in Mumbai to experience unlimited 5G data at no extra cost. Customers who receive an SMS from Vi Care or see a 5G signal on their devices will be eligible to access the service through a 5G-compatible handset and a 5G-ready SIM (existing 4G SIMs are compatible), the spokesperson said.
Selected users in Mumbai will also get free 5G data during the trial phase, but if they move out of its coverage area outside Mumbai, they will automatically get connected to the 4G service, consuming data from their existing 4G plan, the spokesperson said.
“The trials are being used by Vi to gather feedback in order to finetune its network before commercial launch of its 5G service in Mumbai. We’ll share more about the launch of our 5G services at an appropriate time,” the Vi spokesperson stated.