India asked to pay Rs 40 crores, not Rs 20,000 crores to Vodafone: Report

Follow us on

After UK telecom major Vodafone Group won an international arbitration against India, the central government has been asked to pay only Rs 40 crores and not Rs 20,000 crores to the telecom giant, government sources told news agency ANI on Friday.

Sources said that there is a wrong impression that the government will have to return Rs 20,000 crores because of the award in the arbitration case invoked by Vodafone International Holding BV,

The Government of India has been asked to pay only 4.3 million pounds or Rs 40 crore which is 60 per cent of the tribunal's administrative cost while the rest 40 per cent of the cost would be borne by Vodafone, sources told ANI.

They added that the Government of India may have to refund the tax collected, which is about Rs 45 crores, only if it does not go for appeal against the award. Therefore, the total outgo would be around Rs 85 crores only.

Reacting on the news, the Ministry of Finance said that the Government will be studying the award and all its aspects carefully in consultation with its counsels.

After consultations, the government will consider all options and take a decision on the further course of action, read the statement from the Finance Ministry.

(With ANI inputs)