The Bombay High Court has directed the Income Tax department to refund ₹1,128 crore to Vodafone Idea Limited paid by the telecom operator in taxes for the assessment year 2016-2017.
The assessment order passed by the department in August this year was “time barred and hence cannot be sustained, "the HC noted in its judgement on Wednesday.
A division bench of Justices K.R. Shriram and Neela Gokhale also took a strong view against the assessing officer for showing “laxity and lethargy” in not passing the final order within the mandated 30-day time and thus causing a huge loss to the exchequer and public.
