Attorney General not in favour of appealing against Voda arbitration award

The finance ministry, through the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), had sought the AG's opinion around September-end on the ruling

The country’s top law officer does not want the government to challenge the Vodafone tax arbitration ruling by an international tribunal at another forum. Attorney General (AG) K K Venugopal has informally conveyed his opinion to the government, saying India should avoid filing an appeal against the arbitration award, two officials in the know said. 

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in September upheld the plea of Vodafone Group Plc in its long-pending case against the Income-Tax (I-T) department’s demand for Rs 20,000 crore for acquiring Hutchison Whampoa’s stake in what was Hutchison-Essar in 2007 through an overseas