Vodafone for amicable solution to tax issue

Vodafone has made a fresh approach to the Finance Ministry to resolve the stalemate over starting reconciliation with the government over its tax dispute but the company denied that its India head Analjit Singh had met Finance Minister P Chidambaram today.
The British firm, which had sought time to reply to the Revenue Department's offer for a non-binding conciliation under Indian laws to resolve the tax dispute, made an offer, details of which were not available.
Vodafone in a statement said, "We would like to reach an amicable solution with the Indian government. However, we will not agree to any proposal that is likely to prejudice our legal position and would run counter to the interests of our shareholders."

The company denied that Singh met Chidambaram over the issue recently.
While Vodafone had shown keenness to go in for arbitration under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) law, India has proposed conciliation under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
However, a top government functionary said it was in the interest of Vodafone to resolve the issue as the firm is saddled with the tax liability.
Vodafone's reply to the government on the issue was not satisfactory as they nitpicked on things like venue and rules for conciliation.
The functionary said it was for Vodafone to show greater alacrity and enthusiasm to resolve the tax dispute.