As per industry sources, the Indian government has time only till the last week of December 2020 to appeal against the verdict of an international arbitration panel, which had removed the levy of Rs 221 billion worth tax on Vodafone Group using a retrospective law.
Earlier in September 2020, an international arbitration court ruled that the Indian government seeking Rs 221 billion in taxes from Vodafone using retrospective legislation was in violation of the guarantee of fair and equitable treatment guaranteed under the bilateral investment protection pact between India and the Netherlands.
The government is reportedly examining all aspects to arrive at a decision on whether to appeal against the Vodafone award.
The tax dispute dates back to 2007 when Vodafone had acquired the Indian mobile assets from Hutchison Whampoa. Following this acquisition, the government had demanded that Vodafone pay taxes on the acquisition, which the company contested.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Vodafone Group, however, the government later that year amended the rules to enable it to tax deals that had already been concluded. Following this, in April 2014, Vodafone initiated arbitration proceedings against India.
