Airtel, Voda Idea to pay dues today

New Delhi, Feb 16: Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices are likely to make payment for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues on Monday to avoid stringent punitive action from the telecom department, according to official sources.

The three companies are jointly liable to pay dues of over Rs 1 lakh crore, but they have informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of making only partial payment, as per their representatives.

"Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices have said that they will make payments on Monday. The DoT will take action after evaluating the amount paid by them," an official source said.

Earlier on Friday, Bharti Airtel offered the DoT to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20, but a DoT official said that the department can't grant any extension.

Vodafone Idea on Saturday said that it is assessing the amount that can be paid towards AGR dues, even as it flagged concerns over the continuation of its business.

Telecom operators are collectively liable to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore in AGR dues as per the Supreme

Court order dated October 24, 2019.

The deadline to pay the amount ended on January

23, but none of the telecom operators, except Reliance Jio, paid the amount.

As per the last available estimates, Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charges, to the government.

Vodafone Idea is staring at dues worth Rs 53,000 crore, which includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee. Tata Teleservices owes around Rs 13,800 crore, BSNL Rs 4,989 crore and MTNL Rs 3,122 crore.

Out of Rs 1.47 lakh crore, around Rs 1.13 lakh crore is likely to be recovered, as other companies, which are liable to pay AGR dues, have folded up their businesses.

—PTI