Vodafone Idea Hit With Rs 73 Crore GST Demand And Penalty Orders; Details Here

According to the regulatory filing, Vodafone Idea does not agree with these orders and plans to pursue appropriate measures to seek reversal or correction of the demands

Telecom firm Vodafone Idea has received demand orders of over Rs 73 crore from multiple GST offices. This amount includes tax dues, penalties, and interest, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. The company has received nine separate orders from different GST offices, primarily related to claims of insufficient tax payments and alleged misuse of input tax credit (ITC).

On September 1, the GST office in Kolkata imposed the most significant penalty on Vodafone Idea, amounting to over Rs 33.44 crore. This penalty comes in addition to demands for tax payments and interest. The charges against the company include allegations of insufficient tax payments on outward supplies and claims of having availed excess ITC, as per the regulatory filing.

The GST office in Noida demanded Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) pay a "penalty of Rs 26,89,94,489 along with demand and interest as applicable" on September 1 for the company's alleged "excess availment of ITC and short tax paid for FY 2019-20."

In addition, the GST office in Patna has imposed a penalty of Rs 10.94 crore on VIL, including a demand for tax payments and interest.

The company has received further penalties from various GST offices: Rs 4,211 from the Chandigarh GST office, Rs 1.57 crore from the Andhra Pradesh circle, Rs 9.51 lakh from the Odisha GST office, Rs 50,000 from Himachal Pradesh, and Rs 36,000 from another office in Himachal Pradesh.

According to the regulatory filing, Vodafone Idea does not agree with these orders and plans to pursue appropriate measures to seek reversal or correction of the demands. "The company does not agree with the orders and will take appropriate action(s) for rectification/ reversal of the same," states the regulatory filing.

Meanwhile, IT giant Infosys has also received a penalty notice of over Rs 3 crores from the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes in Bengaluru. This penalty concerns alleged irregularities in tax payments and the excessive use of Input Tax Credit (ITC) for the financial year 2019-20.