Vodafone Idea presses for Rs 7,000 cr tax refund

Vodafone Idea, India’s third-largest telecom service provider, is seeking about Rs 7,000 crore in tax refunds for past years even as it faces fresh statutory dues liability – running into thousands of crore – that has put the income tax department in a bind, sources privy to the development said.

The tax department has in past adjusted refunds against a company’s other liabilities towards the government. It had famously adjusted Rs 1,500 crore in tax refunds due to Cairn Energy plc of UK to part settle a retrospective tax demand of Rs 10,247 crore even though the matter was under arbitration.