Raising the multi-billion dollar Vodafone tax issue, the UK on Monday asked for speeding up the arbitration process to resolve the dispute even as India assured that it will not resort to retrospective taxation route in such cases.
Britain’s minister for international trade Liam Fox, during his bilateral meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Siatharaman, flagged the Cairn Energy and Vodafone issues, demanding they be resolved expeditiously.
“Their request was at least in the Vodafone case, would we (India) please not delay or would you (India) please expedite the arbitration, so that (the case) gets a closure,” Ms Sitharaman said.
Meanwhile, UK India Business Council (UKIBC) has called for a comprehensive free-trade-agreement between India and Britain to boost trade and investment ties.
“What we at the UKIBC would advocate is a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that covers trade in goods and services and bilateral investment,” the council's chair Patricia Hewitt said.
In another development, the India-UK CEO Forum announced setting up of an Advanced Material and Manufacturing Technology Centre in India, modeled on the high-value catapult centres of UK.
The centre will be established with equal participation from both the governments, industry members and the academia.
