'Investors scared due to GAAR, govt mishandling'

BJP says PM gave wrong assurance to his then British counterpart Gordon Brown that there would be no retrospective amendments to tax laws

PTI | July 11, 2012



Amid controversies over Vodafone tax matter and GAAR, BJP on Wednesday hit out at the government saying it has mishandled these issues creating scare and uncertainty among the foreign investors.

The main Opposition party suggested that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee were not on the same page with regard to the retrospective amendment to tax laws against the backdrop of Vodafone case, leading to the current precarious situation.

Senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha went to allege that the Prime Minister had given a wrong assurance to his then British counterpart Gordon Brown that there would be no retrospective amendments to tax laws.

He underlined that the Prime Minister cannot distance himself from the policy action taken by Mukherjee, who resigned last month to contest for President elections.

"This (Vodafone) case is a clear case of total mishandling. Without disputung the principles of government levying capital gain tax, I am saying this case has been completely mishandled," told PTI in an interview.

The government has amended Income Tax Act with retrospective effect to bring into tax net all overseas deals involving domestic assets. The amendment would result in a Rs 20,300 crore tax and interest liability for UK-based Vodafone telecom company arising out of USD 11.2 billion Vodafone-Hutch deal of 2007.

Asked about the perception that this development has created a scare among the foreign investors, Sinha agreed.

"This case is bound to have an impact. Foreign investors are interpreting it as uncertainty. He cannot be sure what will happen 10 years, 5 years from now because tax laws can be tweaked with retrospective effect," he said.

"I am not commenting on individual case. What I am saying is when you take a decision of this kind, then you should be aware of the consequences, what is going to be the economic consequence of a decision of this kind," Sinha said.

Comments

 

Other News

UPI completes 10 years of digital payments revolution

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), launched on August 25, 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) under the regulatory oversight of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has completed 10 years of transforming digital payments in India. UPI has emerged as the backbone of India’s digi

Here’s an I.D.E.A. for career growth and success

Success in today’s professional organisation is no longer solely determined by academic qualifications, technical expertise or years of experience. While these attributes do matter, organisations increasingly value individuals who demonstrate the right mindset and behavioural qualities. The ability

PM interacts with CEOs, founders of space startups

Prime minister Narendra Modi interacted with CEOs and Founders of 20 Space Startups at Seva Teerth on Friday.   CEOs of leading companies in the space sector working in diverse fields ranging from building rockets and reusable semi-cryogenic launch vehicles, avionics, satelli

From one cow to a dairy business

In 2012, Anita Dash wasn`t dreaming of building a dairy brand. She wasn`t studying business models or planning market expansion. Like countless mothers across India, her focus was on something much simpler: giving her children a better future.   At the time, her most valuable

Ethanol blending: The two sides of a story

India`s crude oil consumption is estimated to be around 88.5% imported from abroad. This one single figure is also responsible for why ethanol has become both an economic strategy and fuel policy at the same time. In an economy like India, which depends so heavily on foreign oil, any increase in internat

Food inflation: Not a macroeconomic statistic but a developmental indicator

India`s retail inflation shows a reassuring picture at first glance. According to the latest data, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation edged up to 4.38% in June 2026 from 3.93% in May 2026, but continued to remain within the Reserve Bank of India`s (RBI) target band of 4% (+/- 2%). However, beneath this

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter