Vodafone Group Chief to call on Arun Jaitley, Narendra Modi this week

New Delhi: Within days of getting a favourable verdict in the Rs 8,500 crore transfer pricing case from the Bombay High Court, Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao will call on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley this week.

Colao will visit India on October 14 and is scheduled to meet Jaitley the same day, sources told PTI. A meeting with Prime Minister Modi has also been sought. A Vodafone spokesperson did not respond to the emails seeking comments on Colao's India visit. His meeting assumes significance as the Finance Ministry is yet to take a call on filing an appeal in the transfer pricing case in the Supreme Court.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had earlier said that the revenue department will "study the order of Bombay High Court on Vodafone transfer pricing issue and then take a call accordingly". In a big relief for telecom major Vodafone India, the Bombay High Court last week set aside an order of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) which had ruled that the I-T Department had powers to raise tax demand on the company in a Rs 8,500-crore transfer pricing case.

During his meetings with Jaitley and Modi, the Rs 20,000 crore tax dispute locked up in arbitration may also come up for discussion. The case relates to retrospective amendment to the I-T laws carried out by the UPA government in 2012 to upturn the Supreme Court verdict which had favoured Vodafone.

This case pertains to levy of capital gains tax on sale of India assets by Hong Kong-based Hutchison to Vodafone. Vodafone had initiated arbitration proceedings against India. While both India and Vodafone had named their respective arbitrators, the two have not yet been able to agree on a third arbitrator to preside over the proceedings.