UK telecom major Vodafone has not offered a monetary settlement to the government in their tax dispute, sources told NDTV Profit today. While the telecom company has said it will prefer an amicable solution to the matter, it has never expressed willingness to settle the dispute at Rs. 8,000 crore or any other amount.

The two parties have been embroiled in a tax dispute since 2012, after the Income Tax Department on October 22, 2010, passed an order determining a tax liability (including interest) of Rs. 11,218 crore on Vodafone on its acquisition of Hutchinson's stake in Hutch-Essar through a deal in Cayman Islands in 2007.

The Supreme Court, however, quashed the order in January this year. After the apex court's ruling, the Income Tax Act was amended with retrospective effect to bring into tax net such deals.

Section 119 of the Finance Act, 2012, seeks to validate the October 2010 order of the Income Tax Department,w which also passed an order imposing a penalty of Rs. 7,900 crore on Vodafone in April, 2011.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram recently said the Income Tax Department will take a decision on the Vodafone taxation issue after the Parthasarathi Shome Committee has given its report on General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR).

Talking to reporters, he said the decision whether to send another notice to the British telecom major will be taken by the concerned assessing officer in the backdrop of amendment to the Income Tax Act, Supreme Court judgment in the Vodafone case, and the opinion of the Attorney General on the issue.

“Section 119 today is part of the law. We said that there is a judgment in the Supreme Court, there is Section 119 and there is opinion of the AG. And it is for the assessing officer (AO) to take all this into account before deciding the next step,” he said.

“Whether another notice is required or not, it’s for him to decide.