How To Browse On Vodafone?

Can a ordinary taxpayer in India ask for settlement of a tax case against him like the the Government of India is doing for Vodafone?

• http://www.financialexpress.com/news/kapil-sibal-clears-way-for-vodafone-tax-conciliation/1115842 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/telecom/vodafone-has-agreed-to-invest-billions-of-dollars-more-kapil-sibal/articleshow/20275383.cms http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/kapil-sibal-overturns-ashwani-kumar-s-decision-on-vodafone-tax-liability-366729 http://www.dnaindia.com/india/1835320/report-kapil-sibal-is-favouring-vodafone-arvind-kejriwal http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kejriwal-slams-sibal-for-taking-up-vodafone-case-on-day-i/article4718955.ece http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Vodafone-tax-case-Kapil-Sibals-son-continues-to-defend-Hutchison-Kejriwal-says/articleshow/20068470.cms

• Answer:

  There's an aphorism related to loans: If the loan is small, then the lender has control over the borrower; but if the loan is large, then the borrower has control over the lender. This is a similar case. Since the amount involved is large, the Govt. is trying everything to settle the case (they'd appreciate if they got the money from Vodafone, but not at the cost of strongly discouraging potential foreign investors). This is not the case with the individual taxpayer (unless you are worth around a dozen Akshay Kumars). The Vodafone case is also a bit different than the usual cases: this related to retrospective tax on the Hutch acquisition deal. This was deemed illegal by the court, so the Govt. modified the rules and made it legal. Cases relating to 'ordinary' taxpayers are rarely so complex and hardly attracts any media attention. The loss caused to the Govt. by not settling a case of an ordinary taxpayer is also significantly less: an American supermarket chain couldn't care less if some Mr. XYZ Verma/Sharma couldn't settle his income tax problems because the Govt. is apathetic. But if large taxes are being levied (possibly unfairly) upon a corporation, the investor might shy away, which is a net loss to the Indian Government.