Vodafone Transfer Pricing Decision: A Mistake of Judgment

Abstract

On 10 October 2014, the Bombay High Court exercised its non-appellate jurisdiction to quash a transfer pricing claim in the case of Vodafone, in which the tax authorities sought to apply the arm’s length principle to equity financing transactions. This interpretation has been accepted by the Government of India, which has decided not to appeal against the decision of the Bombay High Court. In this contribution, the author critically analyses the controversy to find that not only was the court’s interpretation of the law potentially incorrect, but also that it decided the case out of turn, and without allowing for the facts of the case to be adequately examined.