India has time till Dec-end to appeal against Voda Group arbitration award

The Indian government has time till the last week of December to appeal against the verdict of an arbitration panel that scrapped levy of Rs 22,100 crore tax on the UK-based telecom firm Vodafone Group Plc using a retrospective law.

Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, refusing to be drawn into discussion on former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s promise to honour awards in retrospective tax cases, said the government is examining all aspects to arrive at a decision on whether to appeal against the Voda award.

“We are still examining various aspects and a decision would be taken in due course,” Pandey told PTI.

Asked if there is a time limit on the decision to file an appeal, Pandey said, “All arbitration orders if at all have to be appealed, have a time limit of 90 days. So, we have time to decide, so will decide.”