Vodafone Idea Surges 10% Before Arbitration Appeal Deadline

Vodafone Idea's shares have surged more than 12 percent to Rs. 10.68 on the BSE in intra-day trade on Wednesday. However, the government remained uncertain about appealing attribution award relating to retrospective tax demand against the company's British promoter Vodafone Plc. The deadline for appeal ends today.

The stock was trading 9.98 percent higher at Rs 10.47, as against a 0.82 percent rise in the BSE benchmark Sensex. In the past one month, the stock has added 1.92 percent in comparison to a 5.11-percent gain in Sensex.

On September 24, the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague ruled that the Indian government seeking Rs 22,100 crore in taxes from telecom giant Vodafone using retrospective legislation was in "breach of the guarantee of fair and equitable treatment" under the bilateral investment protection pact between India and the Netherlands.

Last week, discussed the matter extensively with senior bureaucrats, including secretary-level officials and heads of concerned tax departments.

The report states quoting a source privy to the discussion, "The implications of challenging or not challenging the arbitration were discussed in detail. The minister was also apprised of various aspects of the case. However, the meeting remained inconclusive."

While all arbitration orders have a time limit of 90 days for challenging them before a court in Singapore. However, legal experts said that since the deadline is not sacrosanct in the arbitration matters, the government can file an appeal later with condonation.
The views on an appeal are, however, divided as some sections of people in the government are not in favor of it.