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The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Income Tax (IT) Department to refund Rs 733 crore to Vodafone Idea, granting a partial relief to the telecom company which had demanded a total claim of Rs 4,700 crore from the tax authorities, news agency IANS reported.
While the apex court dismissed the company's appeal for refunding its full claim, it also asked the IT Department to refund the said amount within four weeks.
"Insofar as AY 2014-15 is concerned, final assessment order passed under Section 143(3) of the (Income Tax) Act indicates that the appellant (telecom firm) is entitled to refund of Rs 733 crores; while for AY 2015-16 there is a demand of Rs 582 crores," a bench of Justices UU Lalit and Vineet Saran said in the order.
The SC bench has also called upon the tax authorities to concluded at the earliest date the proceedings on refund demand by Vodafone Idea for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18. Further, the court asked the tax department to come out with a final report on the scrutiny of income of the Vodafone Idea.
Vodafone Idea has alleged that the IT Department did not process its tax returns from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
