Telcos ask SC for more time to pay AGR dues
NEW DELHI: Telecom operators Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices jointly filed a modification petition in the Supreme Court on Monday, seeking more time to pay the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the government.
“The application has been filed and the matter is likely to be heard on Tuesday,” said Shally Bhasin, partner, Agarwal Law Associates, representing Vodafone Idea.
This is the final attempt by the debt-laden firms to negotiate for an easier payment schedule with the department of telecommunications, and get an extension to the January 23 deadline.
“Telcos should have filed a modification application much before the review plea. With only two days remaining, the chances to get an immediate relief on the modification application are low. Nevertheless, this is the last attempt for help by the telcos. They will try and present a definite payment plan for the court to consider,” said Saurav Kumar, partner, IndusLaw.
Last week, the Supreme Court had dismissed the review petitions filed by telcos to alter its earlier judgement, which set a three-month deadline for telecom operators to pay the over ₹1 lakh crore in AGR dues.
Bharti Airtel, which has to pay ₹35,586 crore to the government by January 23, and Vodafone Idea, which owes ₹50,000 crore, had on Thursday said that they were evaluating the possibility of filing curative petitions.
The apex court’s refusal to review its order has dealt a body blow to Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, which reported record losses in the September quarter, as they set aside funds to pay the dues.
Without any relief from the court, telcos will have to pay the dues within the next three days.
The October 24 Supreme Court order upheld the government’s definition of revenue, which defined AGR as all revenues of a licence holder, including those from non-core telecom operations, such as rent, dividend and interest income.