End Vodafone saga

Pursuing the matter further will affect investment climate

With Vodafone’s victory in international arbitration in the Netherlands, the long and sorry saga of “retrospective taxation” should ideally be brought to a close. In 2007, the Indian income tax authorities had served a notice for Rs 7,990 crore in capital gains tax on Vodafone for its purchase of Hutchison India’s assets — which were routed through a tax haven, the Cayman Islands. The Anglo-Dutch telecom major fought the demand all the way to the Supreme Court, where it received a favourable judgment. In a move that shocked investors, however, the next Union Budget effectively closed the loophole that Vodafone