Voda's BIPA invocation to notice premature: FinMin sources

The finance ministry has finalised its reply to Vodafone's pre-arbitration notice invoking the Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA) with Netherlands, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

The finance ministry is likely to say that the notice is premature since the retrospective amendment has not become law as yet. Sources add the finance ministry is likely reply that the notice is premature since there was no President’s assent to the Finance Bill.
Last month, Vodafone served the notice as an investor defined under Article 1(d) of the treaty. Its Dutch subsidiary Vodafone International Holdings BV served the notice, asking the government to abandon or amend retrospective aspects of the proposed Finance Bill 2012 or face arbitration proceedings.