Voda mulls $2.2bn tax provision

NEWBURY: Vodafone Group, which has resisted setting aside money for a $2.2 billion tax bill in India, may make a provision to cover the legal risks, chief financial officer Andy Halford said in an interview. The world's second-largest mobile-phone operator is consulting on the need for a provision after an amendment by India's government to its tax law made the company potentially liable for the payment, Halford said. A decision will be made by November, he said.

"The situation has changed and we are looking at it," Halford said from Vodafone's headquarters in Newbury, England. The company's test over whether to take a provision "is now being applied differently against a recently introduced, albeit retrospective, legislation."

The potential tax payment would add to Vodafone's costs of investing in the second-largest wireless market. The operator in January defeated the initial government demand for taxes stemming from its 2007 acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa's Indian operations in the country's top court. In March, the government unveiled an amendment to the law to retrospectively tax cross-border transactions dating back to April 1, 1962. Vodafone's shares fell as much as 1.5% to 173.30 pence and traded 1.3% lower as of 10:24 am in London. The stock is the biggest decliner by index points on the FTSE 100 Index, which slipped 0.4%.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/Voda-mulls-2-2bn-tax-provision/articleshow/16443524.cms

Father of Chandigarh woman booked for Facebook post hopes police will take 'lenient view'

CHANDIGARH: Colonel P Bakshi, father of 22-year-old woman who has been booked for allegedly posting abusive comments on Chandigarh traffic police's Facebook page, on Tuesday hoped the matter will be resolved, maintaining that his daughter was anguished over police not taking concrete action following theft of her vehicle.

Bakshi hoped the matter will be resolved, saying he had talked to senior police officials here and hoped "they will take a lenient view of the matter."

Henna Bakshi, who claims to be winner of Geeta Chopra bravery award over a decade back for nabbing a burglar, was booked on Friday for allegedly using abusive language in her posts on UT traffic police's Facebook page.

The post-graduate student and another person were booked under various sections of the Information Technology Act at industrial area police station on a complaint by a traffic police personnel.

Heena's father said there was no warning or parental guidance advised by the police in her case and penal action was invoked under the IT Act.

He lamented that before registering the case, no one from the police spoke to the family.

"No one spoke to us, not even once, it (the case) came just out of the blue," he said.

Bakshi told reporters his daughter was anguished as she felt police was not taking action after her vehicle was stolen.

"We are hoping they will understand as Henna had not written anything wrong and her comments were not intended for anyone in particular," he said.

Defending the step taken by her daughter, Henna's mother Ranjana Bakshi said, "I don't think she has done anything wrong, I am myself a teacher and don't think she wrote something really out of the way. My daughter was only expressing her anguish."

"I don't think all this (that Henna should have been booked) should have happened," she said.

"We are hoping there is a solution to the problem," Ranjana added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Father-of-Chandigarh-woman-booked-for-Facebook-post-hopes-police-will-take-lenient-view/articleshow/16448852.cms