New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) Telecom major Vodafone welcomed the Supreme Court’s dismissal Friday of the Income Tax department’s Rs.11,218 crore ($2.2 billion) tax claim on the company.

“Vodafone Group has maintained consistently throughout the legal proceedings that this transaction was not taxable. We are pleased with today’s judgment in the Supreme Court,” said the world’s largest telecom company.

In a landmark judgment, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia said Indian tax authorities had no jurisdiction over the transactions carried out abroad, thus quashing the IT department’s claim that Vodafone was liable to pay tax for acquiring the operations of Hutchison Essar in 2007.

“We are a committed long-term investor in India and we have made clear all along that we have faith in the Indian judicial system. We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision, which underpins our confidence in India,” said Vodafone Group Chief Executive Vittorio Colao.

“We will continue to grow our Indian business, including making significant investments in rural areas and in 3G network coverage, for the benefit of Indian consumers,” said Colao.