Indian Supreme Court overturns tax decision, Vodafone rises

published 20 January 2012

Shares in UK telecommunications group Vodafone rose in early trading on Friday on reports that the Indian Supreme Court has overturned an earlier tax-ruling against it from a lower court.

The long-running battle centres around a $2.5bn (£1.3bn) tax bill relating to its 67% interest in Vodafone Essar, the Indian mobile unit of Hutchison Whampoa in which Vodafone invested over $11bn in 2007.

According to various news agencies, the Indian tax office originally claimed that Vodafone failed to pay capital gains tax at the time of the acquisition.