Supreme Court dismisses Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) Plea. Telecom companies have to pay 1.47 lakh Cr. till 23 January.
Telecom companies will have to clear dues by 24 January or seek urgent help from the government. The Supreme Court has dismissed review petitions by various telecom companies facing the SC Juddgeent in the Adjusted Gross Revenue.
Bharti Airtel,which has to pay 35,586 crores to the government by 24 January, and Voda-Idea, which owes the government 50,000 crores, said they were evaluating filing curative petitions.
Bharti Airtel said in a statement, “The industry needs to continue to invest in expanding networks, acquiring spectrum and introducing new technologies like 5G. The money now required to pay punitive interest, penalty and interest on the penalty which forms nearly 75% of AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) dues would have better served the digital mission of the country".
Bharti Airtel, Voda-idea, BSNL, and other telecom operators had challenged the way the Dept. of telecommunications calculated AGR, based on which they have to pay licence fees at 8% and spectrum charges at 3-5% of Adjusted Gross Revenue.
With the payment deadline, telecom companies have expressed their inability to pay the pending Adjusted Gross Revenue dues. Voda-Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has said the telecom companies would shut shop without the government's help. Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal has also asked the government to be sympathetic towards tell companies.
The reason is said by tele companies that after the entering Reliance Jio Tele companies are facing losses. Vodafone-idea has reported a loss of three years Rs 50,922 crores. Bharti Airtel has reported their past three loss of Rs 22,830 crores.
“The sector is already facing heavy taxes and levies in the range of 29% to 32%, which are globally the highest,” said Rajan Mathews, director-general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents private tele companies. “The Supreme Court’s dismissal of the review petition is the last straw in contributing to financial distress and it remains to be seen whether the industry will be able to recover from this setback.”
