Quote from Mr. S. Vasudevan- Executive Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys on the Retrospective Tax Law Scrapping
"Since the time the Government introduced a bill in the Parliament to roll-back the retrospective levy on indirect transfers, there has been speculation around whether taxpayers like Vodafone and Cairns, which have already obtained favourable arbitral awards, would opt for settling the past disputes by accepting the preconditions. These companies, especially Cairns, have to give up a substantial portion of their claims relating to interest and other legal costs. Undertakings are also required to be given to the effect that all pending legal proceedings will be withdrawn and no fresh proceedings will be initiated on this issue. Once the bill is enacted, the Government is supposed to notify the rules detailing the exact procedure. In this background, the reported meeting between officials of Cairns and the Government indicates that Cairns is seriously considering settlement and may end up accepting the truce offered by the Government keeping in mind long-term business interests. Undoubtedly, Cairns will be looking for a firm commitment from the Government on the timeframe for granting refunds post completion of formalities".
