According to local sources, the delay was not a sign of increasing hostility between the two parties, but rather that they both felt they required extra time.
If the two fail to name an arbitrator by the next deadline, Vodafone will be able to turn to the International Court of Justice to resolve the dispute.
Vodafone and India have been involved in a multi-billion dollar tax row for more than six years, following Vodafone's acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa's mobile unit in 2007.
In 2012, the Indian government saved Vodafone from paying $2.9 billion in tax after ruling that its $11 billion acquisition was non-taxable. Later that year, tax legislation was amended, and Vodafone's case was reopened.
