Bharti Airtel and Other Telcos to Approach SC for Last Shot at AGR Relief

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and some of the other telecom companies are currently under heavy distress with the burden of AGR dues which they have to pay in a few days. However, the telecom operators have not given up and are still seeking some relief from whatever source possible. The companies, namely, Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices and Bharti Airtel will reach out to the Supreme Court to ask for permission to talk with the government about possible relief measures for them, reported ET Telecom. The relief that the telecom operators want from the government and the Supreme Court is not about the quantum of dues, but it is about the timeline. This is one of the last desperate attempts by the telecom companies to save themselves from the massive burden of the AGR dues by trying to get relief in terms of timeline and a much easier timeframe to make the payments.

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Dues Almost Worth Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore

Even though the petition will be filed today and the matter will be heard in the Supreme Court urgently on Tuesday. To recall, the telecom companies have to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) over the AGR dues verdict which the Supreme Court passed on October 24, thus changing the definition of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). As per the new ruling, the calculation of the AGR now includes non-core items as well and not only just core telecom services. This increased the dues massively for the telecom companies and put an end to a 15-year legal debacle which has been going on for more than a decade between the telecom companies and the government. It is worth noting that the Rs 1.47 lakh crore dues are on the telecom companies solely. Other non-telecom companies which are license holders like RailTel have also been caught in the storm and have been slapped with massive dues.