Vodafone Idea is trying to clear off the cash crunch situation as the telco giant is facing a heavy financial burden. The telco giant will likely pay Rs 3,000 crore towards spectrum dues which will eliminate the stress of bank guarantees invoked by DoT. Also, the clearance of spectrum dues will show the telcos commitments towards clearing off their financial liabilities. As per the words of a person who is aware of the situation, “Tuesday is the last day for telco giant to pay their spectrum dues. In case if the payment is not made, a grace period of 10 days will be given after which notices will be given to the telco along with bank guarantees being invoked”.
Vodafone Idea Has to Pay Rs 53,000 crore to DoT
Vodafone Idea has to pay Rs 53,000 crore to DoT towards AGR dues out of which it has just paid Rs 3,500 Crore. The telco giant has marked that they will be forced down to shut their operations if no relief is given by the government.
As per the sources of ET Telecom “paying the spectrum dues will send a clear message about the telcos intent to honour its financial commitments.” Currently, the telco giant has a gross cash balance of 1.8 Billion USD out of which 450 million USD are payable in March 2020. The telco earlier stated that they are looking for various ways to see how to further payments can be settled.
Vodafone Idea Seeks Government Help to Remain Viable
Vodafone Idea has asked the government to give them a period of 15 years along with three years moratorium to pay their AGR dues. Also, the telco giant wants GST refunds of worth Rs 8,000 crore, which can be adjusted in AGR liabilities.
Vodafone Idea will clear a massive chunk of dues towards spectrum that the telco acquired in 2014 auctions. In case if the company defaults spectrum dues, they will face enormous stress as they cannot afford bank guarantees getting invoked by DoT. Vodafone Idea has to pay Rs 24,000 crore in the next two fiscal years which will be covered in equal instalments.
