Telecom operators might face some more trouble as the Government has asked the telcos to pay their AGR dues without any further details. The troubled telcos earlier appealed the Government to provide relief measures to ensure their viability in the market as the amount of AGR dues is massive, and full payment of dues might increase their financial burden. As per the sources of ET Telecom, DoT has addressed all the telcos and asked them to submit their self-assessed details and calculations which will be further needed by Government for final reconciliation. Till date, the Government has received a combined amount of Rs 26,000 crore from AGR payments including ad-hoc payment and buffer amounts by telcos. However, the current estimated AGR dues as per DoT stands at Rs 1.46 lakh crore.
Vodafone Idea Worst Hit by AGR Dues
Vodafone Idea is facing massive trouble as their AGR dues stand at Rs 53,000 crore. However, the telco giant self-assessed their dues at Rs 23,000 crore out of which Rs 7,000 crore is the principal amount. Currently, Vodafone Idea has just paid Rs 3,500 crore to DoT. Also, the telco giant has appealed the Government to give relief measures otherwise, they will be forced to shut down their operations.
As per the statement of Sanjay Dhotre who is the minister of state for communications “No official information of Vodafone Idea’s shutdown is available with the Government". He also noted that the Government has approximately received Rs 15,896.5 out of the total provisional dues of Rs 1,46,336.9 crore. However, the numbers will be revised once the final amount of AGR dues is assessed and concluded.
Government Can Take Action Against Telecom Service Providers
Sanjay Dhotre has also marked that the Government has asked the telecom operators to settle their AGR dues without any delays as the supreme court has already denied relief pleas by telco giant and ordered them to pay their AGR dues before the final hearing which is scheduled on March 17, 2020. He also added that the Government could take legal action against telecom operators over non-compliance of Supreme Court orders on payment of AGR dues to DoT.
