Presiding judge for a three-member arbitration panel set up to decide on the Rs 22,100-crore tax demand from Indian tax authorities on UK’s Vodafone Group has been identified and an announcement is likely shortly.
Vodafone had initiated two separate arbitrations under the India-Netherlands Bilateral Investment Treaty and the India-UK Bilateral Investment Treaty against the tax notice linked to a legislation that gave the I-T Department powers to raise retrospective demand.
While appointment of arbitrators in the dispute raised under the India-UK treaty has not yet taken off, the two sides had named one arbitrator each under the Dutch treaty.
“The presiding arbitrator was pending and the judge has now been identified. I think the announcement will be made shortly,” a source said.
Vodafone had in March moved the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) after arbitrators appointed by it and the Indian Government failed to reach a consensus on selection of a presiding judge of the three-member panel.
Vodafone International Holdings BV had on April 17, 2014, served a notice of arbitration under the Dutch Bilateral Investment Treaty seeking resolution of the tax demand imposed by India through a tax law with retrospective effect to sidestep a Supreme Court judgement.