The Bombay High Court will dispose off the Vodafone income tax issue on December 17.British telecom major Vodafone had passed the buck on payment of tax of over $2 billion to Hutchison Telecommunications International (HTIL), the former joint venture partner of the Essar group in Hutch-Essar, stating that taxes are to be paid by the seller. Vodafone had recently bought the 67% stake held by Hutchison in Hutch-Essar. The income tax (I-T) department had issued a show-cause notice to Vodafone-Essar asking why capital gains tax on the $11.1 billion deal should not be levied on the company.Vodafone-Essar, on its part, has filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the right of the authorities to levy a capital gains tax.According to Vodafone Group chief executive officer Arun Sarin, "Neither the Essar company, nor the Vodafone company, nor Vodafone-Essar (joint venture company) are party to it. Usually, taxes are paid by the seller, and the seller is not any of the parties represented here."
