Vodafone Idea gets Supreme Court relief as ₹363 crore GST demand is quashed

Vodafone Idea has received relief from the Supreme Court after the apex court refused to interfere with a Bombay High Court order that had quashed a ₹363 crore GST demand linked to the company's erstwhile Vodafone Mobile Services entity. The Supreme Court dismissed the Centre's challenge on September 7.

The case relates to the transfer of Vodafone Mobile Services' telecom tower business to ATC Telecom Infrastructure in 2017. Vodafone Mobile Services later merged with Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in 2018, after which the entity ceased to exist.

Why Vodafone Idea got relief

The Supreme Court questioned how tax proceedings could be continued against an entity that no longer existed following its merger. The Bombay High Court had earlier quashed the proceedings on similar grounds, and the Supreme Court has now declined to revive the demand.

The GST dispute began with the transfer of Vodafone Mobile Services' tower business in 2017. The tax authorities later issued proceedings involving a ₹363 crore demand and penalties. Vodafone Idea challenged the action, arguing that the entity named in the proceedings had already ceased to exist after the merger.

Vodafone Idea financial performance

The court relief comes as Vodafone Idea continues to work on improving its operating performance. In Q1 FY27, revenue from operations rose 6% year on year to ₹11,689 crore, while EBITDA increased 9.1% to ₹5,034 crore. Its adjusted net loss narrowed to ₹5,362 crore.

The company's ARPU increased 10.2% year on year to ₹195, while its subscriber base rose slightly to 193.1 million. Vodafone Idea also had 130.1 million 4G and 5G subscribers and expanded 5G coverage to more than 200 cities.

Financial metric	Q1 FY27
Revenue	₹11,689 crore
EBITDA	₹5,034 crore
EBITDA margin	43.1%
Adjusted net loss	₹5,362 crore
ARPU	₹195
Subscribers	193.1 million

Vodafone Idea stock performance

Vodafone Idea shares were trading at ₹15.40 on September 8, with a market capitalisation of around ₹1.67 lakh crore. The stock has gained 21.29% over one month, 53.48% over six months and 113.55% over one year based on the supplied market data.

Stock performance	Return
1 Day	-1.03%
5 Days	+7.75%
1 Month	+21.29%
6 Months	+53.48%
1 Year	+113.55%
5 Years	+87.15%

The Supreme Court ruling removes one legal issue around the disputed GST demand, while investors will continue to track Vodafone Idea's subscriber growth, ARPU, network expansion and funding position.