Sarin: Wait and watch

New Delhi, Oct. 8: Vodafone chief Arun Sarin has said the company will wait for the court decision on tax issues involving the Hutch-Vodafone deal.

Sarin, who met finance minister P. Chidambaram today presumably over the same issue, told reporters: “There was no discussion (during the meeting) on the notice from the income tax department. The matter is in court and we will wait for its decision.”

Last month, the income tax department had sent a notice to Vodafone seeking around $1.7 billion in capital gains tax related to the sale of Hutchison Telecom International’s (HTIL) majority stake in Hutch Essar, now renamed Vodafone Essar.

The company, however, has contested the notice and approached Bombay High Court. During his last visit, Sarin had said the company was not liable to pay tax.

“We are working with the income tax department to sort out this issue. Neither the Essar group, nor Vodafone, nor Vodafone Essar is liable to pay taxes. It is the seller who should be taxed; and the seller is not one of the parties represented here,” Sarin had said earlier.

But the finance ministry contends that Vodafone has a liability as a payer.