Hutchison Telecom (NYSE:HTX)
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Vodafone International Holdings BV Tuesday said it has appealed to India's Supreme Court against the federal government's move to impose capital gains tax of up to $2 billion on its purchase of a 67% stake in Hutchison Essar.

The appeal, which was dismissed by the Bombay High Court early December, is likely to be heard between Jan. 19 and Jan. 23, a company spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

Vodafone International had in February 2007 paid $11 billion to CPG Ltd. - which is owned by Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (HTX) and registered in the Cayman Islands - for the stake in the Indian telecommunications company.

Vodafone International, a Dutch firm wholly owned by the U.K.'s Vodafone Group PLC (VOD.LN), has been arguing since June 23 last year against the Indian state's move to tax the deal.

India's income tax department argues that Vodafone is liable to pay taxes because the transaction involved the transfer of an Indian asset, in this case the Hutchison Essar stake.

The tax body said also that Vodafone should have withheld tax on behalf of the Indian government.

The Bombay High Court had given Vodafone International eight weeks to file a fresh appeal against its decision in the Supreme Court.

Hutchison Telecommunications is the mobile phone services unit of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (0013.HK). Hutchison Essar was renamed Vodafone Essar Ltd. after the stake sale.

-By Deepali Gupta, Dow Jones Newswires; 91 22 2288 4212; deepali.gupta@dowjones.com

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