Vodafone Idea Wins Claim Over Rs 408 Crore in Taxes

Vodafone Idea (Vi) has got another relief of Rs 408 crore. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s (ITAT) Mumbai bench has allowed the telco’s claim for depreciation on the spectrum fee it paid during FY15, reports ET Telecom.

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Vodafone India, before it merged with Idea Cellular, had declared a total income of more than Rs 4,350 crore for the assessment year 2015-16 and claimed depreciation of Rs 1,628.48 crore at 25% on the spectrum fee it had paid. Under Section 32 of the Income Tax Act, Vodafone India had treated the spectrum as an ‘intangible asset’.

Vodafone Idea Needs Funding as Fast as Possible

Vodafone Idea (Vi) needs funding as fast as possible. The third-largest telco in the country isn’t making a lot of difference for the customers when it comes to offering network coverage. A lot of help from the government has already come, and the telco’s liabilities have also been reduced, with a large part of the dues converting into equity for the government.

The individual promoter holdings are less than that of the government now. The Government of India (GoI) has declared that it doesn’t want to convert Vi into a public sector unit (PSU) and is only looking for things to stabilise so that it can sell its stake in the company.