Vodafone Idea Hit With ₹638 Crore GST Penalty Order, To Challenge Legally

New Delhi: Vodafone Idea on Thursday said it has received a GST penalty order of Rs 637.91 crore, passed under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act (CGST), 2017. In an exchange filing, the telecom company said it received the penalty order from the Office of the Additional Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), Ahmedabad South, on December 31.

The order has been passed under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, “confirming a penalty of Rs 6,37,90,68,254 along with the demand of tax and applicable interest,” the company said. It further stated that the “Company does not agree with the Order and will take appropriate legal action(s) against the same”. The order alleges short payment of Tax and excess availment of Input Tax Credit. The maximum financial impact is to the extent of tax demand, interest and penalty levied.

However, the telecom operator said it does not agree with the order and will take appropriate legal action against it. Earlier on Wednesday, Vodafone Idea issued a clarification after reports claimed that the Union Cabinet had approved a five-year moratorium and frozen the company’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues at Rs 87,695 crore. In a stock exchange filing, Vodafone Idea said the reports were speculative in nature and that it had not received any official communication confirming such a decision.

“We have not received any communication from the Government in relation to the above reported matter,” the telecom operator stated in its exchange filing. “As and when there is any development which requires disclosure, we will do the needful,” it added. The clarification came amid heightened market reaction to the reports. Following the earlier report, Vodafone Idea shares witnessed heavy selling pressure. The company’s shares closed at Rs 11.63 apiece, up by 8 per cent, on Thursday.

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