Vodafone wins legal victory in Indian tax dispute

Vodafone has won a long-running 30 billion rupee ($490 million) Indian tax dispute, providing a rare spot of good news for a company that has suffered a series of bruising battles with the country's revenue authorities in what could prove a test case for the government.

The Bombay High Court yesterday ruled in favour of the UK telecoms group in a row over taxes relating to transfer pricing, an area that covers how global companies account for services provided by local subsidiaries to other parts of their organisations.

The judgment will be viewed favourably by other multinationals, including Royal Dutch Shell, involved in other transfer pricing disputes in India.

Investors will watch to see if India’s government appeals against the decision to the Supreme Court. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014