{"id":10043,"date":"2012-04-17T11:45:05","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T09:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=10043"},"modified":"2012-04-17T12:35:52","modified_gmt":"2012-04-17T10:35:52","slug":"vodafone-serves-notice-of-dispute-over-indian-tax-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/mobile\/10043\/vodafone-serves-notice-of-dispute-over-indian-tax-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Vodafone serves notice of dispute over Indian tax bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vodafone<\/a> has on Tuesday (April 17, 2012) served the Indian government with a Notice of Dispute\u00a0claiming\u00a0 that\u00a0proposals in the Indian Finance Bill 2012 violate the international legal protections granted to Vodafone and other international investors in India.<\/p>\n

It follows a move by the Indian government to amend a law retrospectively to tax global merger and acquisition transactions involving Indian assets.<\/p>\n

The notice, served by the group\u2019s Dutch subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings BV (VIHBV), is the first step required prior to the commencement of international arbitration under the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between India and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n

The tax legislation proposed by the Indian government, if enacted, would have serious consequences for a wide range of Indian and international businesses, as well as direct and negative consequences for Vodafone, the group said.<\/p>\n

The proposed legislation would also countermand the verdict of the Indian Supreme Court in January 2012, which ruled that\u00a0Vodafone had no liability to account for withholding tax on its acquisition of indirect interests in Hutchison Essar Limited in 2007.<\/p>\n

Under the BIT, the Indian government is obliged, amongst other things, to:<\/p>\n