The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned hearing in the tax case against Vodafone to November 15 after the telecom company sought time to go through the Rs. 11,218 crore tax notice sent by the Income Tax department.
Vodafone submitted before the court that it received the tax department order late Friday and hence needed time to pore over it.
Considering the telecom giant’s argument, a bench comprising Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justices KS Radhakrishnan and Swatantra Kumar adjourned the matter to November 15. The bench also directed Vodafone to file replies of the Income Tax department’s direction fixing their liability.
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Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Vodafone, said that they have received the I.T department’s order fixing the liability of Rs 11,218 crore but did not get enough time to reply.
Meanwhile, the bench also said that the Vodafone’s recent case filed by it at the Bombay High Court against the I.T department, holding them as Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd’s agent for the transaction would, continue.
On Friday, I.T department had issued an order raising a tax demand of Rs 11,217.95 crore on Vodafone International holdings BV treating it as an assessee in default for failure to deduct tax as required before making a payment of USD 11,076 million (about Rs 55,000 crore) to Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd.
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Following the stake transfer in 2007, Hutchison Essar was renamed Vodafone Essar.
Vodafone has since claimed that no tax is payable by the company and the Indian tax authorities have no right to seek tax as the transaction was executed outside the country.