Vodafone Idea gets Rs 638 crore GST penalty order

Telecom service provider Vodafone Idea (VI) received a GST penalty order of Rs 638 crore from Office of Additional Commissioner, Central Goods and Service Tax, Ahmedabad on Thursday.

In a statutory filing, the company said will challenge the order legally.

This comes only a day after the debt-ridden company received relief on its Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, with the Union Cabinet on Wednesday deciding to freeze its dues along with a five-year payment moratorium and allowing capped AGR dues to be reassessed.

In a filing on Thursday, VI had said, "Order passed under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 confirming penalty of Rs 6,37,90,68,254 along with the demand and interest as applicable." The order came from the Office of the Additional Commissioner, Central Goods & Service Tax, Ahmedabad, and was received on Wednesday, VIL said, adding that it pertains to "allegation of 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. The company does not agree with the order and will take appropriate legal action(s) against the same," the company had added.

(With PTI inputs)