MUMBAI -(Dow Jones)- Vodafone International Holdings BV, a unit of Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN), said Friday it has received a show-cause notice from India's income-tax department.
A spokesman for Vodafone Group's Indian unit, while speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, didn't immediately provide any details of the notice.
A London-based spokesman of Vodafone Group also confirmed the company has just received a notice. Vodafone will study it and respond in due course, he added.
In January, India's Supreme Court had declined to hear an appeal by Vodafone International against a $2 billion tax bill related to the company's 2007 acquisition of Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd.'s controlling stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd.
The court had then said the country's Central Board of Direct Taxes has the jurisdiction over the case.
A Central Board of Direct Taxes spokesman had said Vodafone International will have to reply to a show-cause notice issued by the tax department, and that the board will then take a "final view."
Vodafone had turned to the apex court after the Bombay High Court Dec. 3 dismissed an appeal, questioning the right of the authorities to impose tax on a deal completed overseas.
-By R. Jai Krishna and Romit Guha, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-4356-3333; krishna.jai@dowjones.com
(Lilly Vitorovich in London contributed to this article)