Hutch Deal- Vodafone Looks For India Tax Dispute Settlement

The Dutch government has approached India on behalf of Vodafone’s Netherlands unit to settle a three-year-old tax dispute involving a Rs 11,000 crore claim, an Indian newspaper reported on Monday. The Netherlands has asked India to consider an alternate dispute resolution that will run parallel to the ongoing court process, the paper said, quoting unnamed tax and government officials. Indian tax authorities had asked Vodafone to pay Rs 11,218 crore ($2.5 billion) tax on its 2007 purchase of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd’s mobile business in the country, which the company is fighting in court. “The Dutch government has been in discussion with Vodafone and we believe it has initiated a formal process under the tax treaty between the Dutch and Indian governments,” the paper quoted a Vodafone spokesperson as saying.