Quote from Mr. V. Lakshmikumaran, Managing Partner, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys on the Retrospective Tax Law Scrapping
“The whole saga of retrospective imposition of tax post the Vodafone verdict of the Supreme Court has severely dented the image of India as an attractive destination for investment. India’s insistence on continuing the legal fight inspite of the recent arbitration awards was proving to be counterproductive to its economic objectives. It is a welcome move by India now to nullify the impact of these retrospective amendments. The Indian government has tried to come up with a middle path to amicably settle the past disputes. It will be interesting to see if companies like Vodafone and Cairns will agree to give up substantial portion of their claims inspite of their success in arbitration proceedings. In any case, it is a step taken by India is in the right direction and it sends out a very positive signal to the international community about India’s resolve to abide by commitments made under international treaties and to provide tax certainty. Hopefully, we will learn from this bitter experience and make such retrospective tax levies a thing of the past.”
