Vodafone CEO: Convinced No Tax Is Due In India

NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN) is confident that it doesn't have any taxes due in India relating to its $11.2 billion acquisition of a majority stake in local mobile phone operator Hutchison Essar Ltd in 2007, the U.K. company's chief executive said Thursday. "We have confidence in the court process. India has a very solid legal system and we will just go on and on until our reasons are heard," Vittorio Colao told reporters. Following the acquisition of a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar, Indian authorities slapped Vodafone International Holdings BV--the Netherlands-based unit of Vodafone that carried out the purchase--with a tax bill, saying it was liable as the deal involved the transfer of an Indian asset. The tax bill could total up to $2.6 billion. Vodafone International filed a high court appeal against claim, saying it wasn't liable as it bought the stake from CPG Ltd. in a deal that took place on foreign soil, as CPG is registered in the Cayman Islands and owned by Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. A Bombay High Court judge is expected on Aug. 2 to hear arguments from the two sides over the question of jurisdiction. -By R. Jai Krishna and Arpan Mukherjee, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-9967586928; romit.guha@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 29, 2010 04:59 ET (08:59 GMT)