Vodafone Idea faces ₹638 crore GST demand, penalty from CGST Ahmedabad

Debt-laden telecom operator Vodafone Idea Ltd on Thursday (January 1) said it has received an order from the Office of the Additional Commissioner, Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), Ahmedabad South, confirming a penalty of ₹638 crore.

The order has been passed under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and includes the demand for tax along with applicable interest. As per the disclosure, the action relates to allegations of short payment of tax and excess availment of input

tax credit.

Vodafone Idea said it received the order on December 31, 2025.

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"The maximum financial impact is to the extent of tax demand, interest and penalty levied,” the company said in its filing. Vodafone Idea added that it does not agree with the order and will take appropriate legal action(s) against the same.

Second Quarter Results

Vodafone Idea said its consolidated net loss year-on-year narrowed to ₹5,524 crore in the second quarter ended September 2025. The company had posted a net loss of ₹71,75.9 crore in the year-ago period.

Its consolidated revenue from operations increased 2.4% to ₹11,195 crore during the reported quarter from ₹10,932.2 crore a year ago.

The customer ARPU (average revenue per user) rose 8.7% year-on-year to ₹180 in the reported quarter from ₹166 in the September 2025 quarter, mainly due to customer upgrades and tariff increases, the company said. The total debt of the company stood at ₹2,02,951 crore at the end of the reported quarter.

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd ended at ₹11.63, up by ₹0.87, or 8.09%, on the BSE.