Although, Bharti Airtel Has not told how much outstanding amount it has to pay after this payment. Recently, the Supreme Court had rejected the request of telecom companies for recalculation of the amount due to the government. Bharti Airtel said that the payment of more than Rs 84 billion made to the Telecom Department includes an interest rate of 9.3 percent. It had fully paid the spectrum fees for 2012 and 2015 in the first quarter of the current financial year. Bharti Airtel did not respond to a request for comment sent by Reuters.
Analysts at rating agency ICRA estimate that Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have to pay about Rs 1 lakh crore to the government as adjusted gross revenue (AGR) outstanding amount. This includes spectrum charges and licensing fees. As a last resort, these companies had filed a petition against a similar decision of the Supreme Court three years ago. Their argument was that the Telecom Department had made mistakes in the calculation of the alleged outstanding amount of AGR. These companies said that only the revenue from their core services should be counted in the calculation of the outstanding amount, whereas the government argued that non-core revenue should also be included in AGR. This also includes the amount received from rent or sale of land.
In a 2019 decision, the Supreme Court had upheld the government’s definition of AGR calculation. The Supreme Court’s rejection of its request for recalculation of AGR has dealt a major blow to struggling Vodafone Idea, which has to pay around Rs 700 billion to the government in spectrum charges and license fees. The central government is also the largest shareholder in this company with 23.1 percent stake.
Gadgets 360 for the latest tech news, smartphone reviews and exclusive offers on popular mobiles. Android Download the app and follow us Google News Follow on.
Telecom, Revenue, Demand, Bharti Airtel, Market, Spectrum, Mobile, Government, ICRA, Vodafone Idea, Debt, Supreme Court, Network, Payment