The Supreme Court’s verdict regarding the payment of AGR dues has been giving massive financial distress to telco giants such as Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and others. In total, the telcos have a pay a cumulative amount of Rs 1.47 lakh crore to DoT towards AGR dues. The supreme bench has noted that the telcos must clear their AGR dues before the final hearing on March 17, 2020. Vodafone Idea which is the affected the most from the decision has now cleared their self-assessed principal amount of Rs 6,854 crore with the latest payment being Rs 3,354 crore. Also, the telco giant has appealed the government and asked for relief measures which would ensure their viability in the market.
Vodafone Idea Self-Assessed Dues Stand at Rs 21,000 Crore
As per DoT, Vodafone Idea has to pay a whopping amount of Rs 53,000 crore. However, as per the self-assessment of AGR dues, the telco giant has to approximately pay Rs 21,000 crore out of which Rs 6,854 crore is the principal amount for the period from FY 2006-07 to FY 2018-19. To clear off the massive liability, Vodafone Idea today has paid Rs 3,354 crore to DoT. Also, Vodafone Idea paid a sum of Rs 2,500 crore to DoT on February 17, 2020, and Rs 1,000 crore on February 20, 2020. With this amount, Vodafone Idea has cleared and settled their self-assessed principal amount towards the AGR dues.
Vodafone Idea Appealed the Government for Relief Measures
In order to survive the cash-crunch situation, Vodafone Idea appealed the government for relief measures or else the telco giant will be forced to shut down their operations. Vodafone Idea asked the government to allow GST refunds of Rs 8,000 crore which would be further settled in their AGR dues.
Not only this, the telco giant asked a reduction in license fees along with a period of 15 years to clear their AGR dues. To help the distressed telco, the government is planning to offer soft loans on easy terms which would help the distressed telcos pay their AGR dues without any hassle. Also, the government is planning to provide a relief package to all the telcos suffering from AGR crisis.
