India FM: Vodafone appeal is unrelated to retrospective taxation

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

India FM: Vodafone appeal is unrelated to retrospective taxation

Vodafone India Court Appeal

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has defended India's decision to appeal a Bombay High Court ruling in the Rs 8,500 crore ($1.7 billion) Vodafone transfer pricing case, saying it is not related to a separate, retrospective tax issue.



"Why should the government not file an appeal when it thinks that it is an appealable order?" the minister reportedly told ET Now, an online news portal. Jaitley was responding to a question about the tax department's decision to appeal a Bombay High Court ruling made in October 2015. 

Vodafone won its case against the Indian authorities’ (ITAT) transfer pricing adjustment in October 2015 over the sale of a call centre, which the government is now appealing to the Supreme Court using a Special Leave Petition.





Jaitley rejected criticism of the Indian government’s handling of the Bombay High Court case in an interview published on 20 April, asserting that "there is no company in the world that is immune from paying taxes”.

Vodafone is awaiting international arbitration on another case relating to the ITAT’s imposition of retrospective legislation on the 2007 purchase of an Indian telecom group.



more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

New research, which suggests LLMs can silently corrupt complex documents, should alert tax and legal teams relying on AI to handle iterative drafting and compliance workflows
Maintaining increased funding for HMRC is a ‘high possibility’ if he becomes PM, ITR has also heard
Awards
ITR is delighted to reveal all the shortlisted nominees for the 2026 Europe Tax Awards
The firm has hired a team of private client lawyers from Withers to launch in New York and Connecticut, though ITR analysis suggests it faces stiff competition
The ability of tax authorities to receive and analyse data is becoming ‘quite advanced’, warns Stuart Lang, head of EY’s compliance co-sourcing solution
The Court of Appeal ruling clarifies that treaty benefits are not abusive where transactions are commercially driven, providing greater certainty on “main purpose” anti-avoidance tests
Despite the Netherlands featuring an unusual concentration of World Tax-ranked technology-led providers, sources believe there’s a long way to go to challenge the established players
Ethics seems to be playing a subservient role to an entitlement culture borne out of a pervasive ‘revenue at all costs’ mentality at the big four
Historical World Tax data suggests the ‘largest law firm merger in history’ may not pose a serious threat to the world's leading tax practices
The repeal of Libya’s statute of limitations and tougher enforcement leave taxpayers navigating a high-stakes choice between conciliation and litigation
Gift this article