Vodafone wins arbitration against India for retrospective tax dispute of Rs 20,000 cr

Vodafone’s case at The Hague was presented by DMD Advocates. (Photo: iStock)


Vodafone has won arbitration case against India over government’s retrospective tax demand of more than Rs 20,000 crore, reports said on Friday.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in its ruling said that the conduct of India’s tax department is in breach of “fair and equitable” treatment.

Vodafone’s case at The Hague was presented by DMD Advocates.

A CNBCTV18 report on Friday said that the Arbitration Tribunal has directed India’s a Tax Department to cease the conduct in question. A failure to comply with the directive will engage its international responsibility.

The telco had moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2016 due to a lack of consensus between the parties’ arbitrators in finalising a judge for the tax dispute. Following this, a tribunal was constituted in June 2016 after Vodafone challenged India’s use of a 2012 legislation that gave it powers to retrospectively tax deals like Vodafone’s $11 billion acquisition of a 67 per cent stake in Hutchison Whampoa in 2007. The retrospective tax law had been enacted after the Supreme Court judgement went in Vodafone’s favour.

The company had challenged the tax department’s demand of Rs 7,990 crore as capital gains taxes (Rs 22,100 crore after including interest and penalty) under the Netherlands-India Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT).

Buoyed by the arbitration award, Vodafone Idea stock closed 12 per cent higher at Rs 10.20.

In 2007, the Indian Income Tax department had slapped a demand notice on Vodafone seeking capital gains tax.