Look-At Approach Prevails over Dissection: The Vodafone Saga

This article analyses the ruling of the Supreme Court of India in the controversial case of Vodafone International Holdings B.V., which ultimately provided relief to Vodafone of a potential tax liability of INR 25 billion. The Supreme Court concluded that the Indian Courts and the tax authorities should ascertain the purpose of a transaction by looking at the entire transaction holistically, rather than adopting a dissecting approach.