Settlement with Vodafone? Government asking for trouble

I am not a lawyer, nor a CA. I haven't been following the Vodafone case in great detail either. Hence, these are general concerns about Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) authorizing Finance Ministry to have conciliation talks with Vodafone. We have Rs 20,000 crore a tax dispute – around Rs 8000 crore as principal, around Rs 6300 crore as interest (since 2007) and around Rs 5700 crore as penalty. Was government justified in making a tax demand for acquisition of Hutchison Essar?  In 2012, Supreme Court thought no and the Court was only interpreting law of the land. Often, when court judgments have been unfavourable, India (and other countries too) has amended legislation.

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