Vodafone for settling tax dispute amicably

Vodafone India Chairman Analjit Singh on Tuesday said the company was keen to reach an amicable settlement on the tax dispute. “I hope to meet the Finance Minister again early next week... Vodafone is highly desirous and keen to settle the tax matter,” Singh said, after meeting Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday.

This is the first time that a top official from Vodafone has met the Finance Minister after the Government decided to settle the Rs 11,217-crore tax issue through conciliation.

While Vodafone had expressed interest in conciliation proceedings under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law , India has proposed settlement under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act. Vodafone is facing the tax liability on its 2007 acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa’s stake in Hutchison Essar.

Reuters reports from London: Meanwhile, the chairman of Vodafone Plc said that the group would seriously consider any offer for its stake in its US joint venture Verizon Wireless, but that there was nothing new to announce on Tuesday.

Vodafone’s partner Verizon Communications has made little secret of its desire to buy out Vodafone in a multi-billion dollar deal that would be one of the largest of all time.

The company’s chairman, Gerard Kleisterlee, was speaking at Vodafone’s annual meeting in London. Vodafone owns a 45 per cent stake in the venture.