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Govt drops UPA attempt to challenge fiat on Vodafone

January 29, 2015

vadafone tax

New Delhi, Jan 29: In a clear signal to global investors that India has moved to a fair and transparent tax regime, the government on Wednesday revoked the former United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government’s decision to challenge in the Supreme Court a Bombay High Court ruling in favour of Vodafone.

The decision not only gave the world’s second largest telecom firm a relief of Rs 3,200 crore in a tax dispute case with the government, but also sought to harbour hopes among 20 such multi-national companies facing similar disputes in India.

The Cabinet decision came just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the presence of US President Barack Obama assured the world investment community that India was moving fast on removing all ambiguities in its tax regime.

“This fruitless litigation could have been avoided by the previous government. We are only correcting the legacies of the past,” Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

In a 2010 case, the Income Tax (I-T) department had asked Vodafone to pay additional tax of Rs 3,200 crore stating that the telecom firm had undervalued its shares in its Pune BPO, Vodafone India Services, while transferring them to the parent company in Britain.

The tax authorities later issued a show cause notice against the company in January 2014 and passed an order asking it to pay the tax.

Vodafone then moved the Bombay High Court against the I-T department decision. The court said in its order in October 2014 that the UK-based telecom firm was not liable to pay income tax demanded in the case relating to transfer pricing.

Vodafone, the largest corporate investor in India, is facing several other tax disputes in the country.

“Investors’ confidence has been shaken in the past because of the very fluctuating tax policy. The government wants to convey a clear message to investors world over that this is a government where the decisions will be fair, transparent and within the four corners of the law,” the telecom minister said.

Reacting to the decision, Vodafone’s counsel said: “The government’s change of heart is a good massage to global investors”. But he maintained that the people were actually waiting to see a change on the ground and a change in the “mind set” of the tax department.

After talking to hundreds of CEOs at the India-US Business Summit two days ago, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that he and the prime minister took pains to explain it to investors that India was seriously working on a investor-friendly tax administration.

*Decision not to file appeal taken at the highest level following advice by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

*Will help other MNCs like Dutch oil major Shell

*Shell too had got a favourable judgment in a transfer pricing case from Bombay HC

*Transfer pricing is the practice of arm’s length pricing for transactions between group companies based in different countries

*Decision to bring greater clarity and predictability for taxpayers and tax authorities

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News Network
July 31,2020

New Delhi, Jul 31: Air India has operated more than 2800 flights and flown over 3 lakh passengers worldwide till now under the Vande Bharat Mission.

"Air India under Vande Bharat Mission Operated more than 2800 flights and flown more than 3 lakh, 80 thousand passengers worldwide till now," Air India said in a tweet on Thursday.

The fifth phase of the Government of India's 'Vande Bharat' mission, aimed at evacuating Indian nationals stranded in various foreign countries owing to restrictions on air travel, will begin early next month, August 1.

"Under Vande Bharat Mission, we have already brought back more than 2.5 lakh stranded Indians from 53 commies," Air India had earlier said in a statement.

Over 7.88 lakh Indians stranded abroad due to coronavirus pandemic have returned under Vande Bharat Mission till July 22, Ministry of External Affairs had said.

The government started Vande Bharat Mission on May 7.

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News Network
June 26,2020

New Delhi, Jun 26: "Iam Indira Gandhi's granddaughter, not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday said, as she alleged that the Uttar Pradesh government is threatening her through various departments for speaking the truth. Priyanka Gandhi's dare to the Uttar Pradesh government came days after the Agra administration asked her to withdraw within 24 hours the claim of high coronavirus deaths in the district.

The Congress general secretary in-charge UP East has accused the Yogi Adityanath government of indulging in propaganda instead of dealing with the pandemic. "As a public servant, my duty is towards the people of Uttar Pradesh. And this duty is to put out the truth before them and not to put forth government propaganda. The UP government is wasting its time by threatening me through its various departments," Priyanka Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

"They can take whatever action they want, I will keep putting forth the truth. I am Indira Gandhi's granddaughter not an undeclared BJP spokesperson like some of the opposition leaders," she said. This week, Priyanka Gandhi repeatedly attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the "high" COVID-19 mortality rate in Agra and on other issues related to the state government's handling of the pandemic.

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Agencies
August 6,2020

Mumbai, Aug 6: Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Thursday that overly focusing on what sovereign rating agencies think can take one's eyes off what needs to be done for the economy.

"It is also important to convince both domestic and international investors that after the crisis associated with the pandemic is over, we will return to fiscal responsibility over the medium term, and the government should do more to convince them of that," Rajan told the Global Markets Forum.

India was placed under one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March for more than two months to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but cases have continued to rise steadily since the government eased restrictions in June, stymieing hopes of an economic recovery.

The government has announced several initiatives to help the poor and small- and medium-size businesses, but actual cash outgo from the government's measures has been estimated at just about 1% of GDP.

Several attribute the fiscal prudence to fear of a downgrade after Moody's cut India's rating and outlook in early June followed closely by a change in outlook from Fitch.

The central bank on its part too has reduced the key lending rate by 115 basis points on top of the 135 bps last year and is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 bps later on Thursday.

"The RBI and government have certainly been cooperating, but it seems like it is elsewhere, the ball is in the government's court to do more," Rajan said.

He said the RBI needs to focus on whether credit is reaching the stressed areas of the economy and also if the viable firms were able to access credit and not the unviable ones.

"And I think that's where it has to focus its attentions, because resources, as you well know, are limited in India today."

Recently analysts, however, have cited the growing possibility the RBI may prefer to pause and cut rates only at its October meeting.

Government officials too have suggested the possibility of any more fiscal stimulus being announced, would only come in the second half of the fiscal year, once a recovery has taken root and coronavirus cases have peaked.

"What India should focus on at this point is protecting its economic capabilities, so that when it has dealt with the virus it can go resume activity in a reasonable way. That should be the focus," Rajan said.

"And if it does that, there is no reason why the rating agencies will not see that as an appropriate policy".

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