Don’t encash bank guarantees of Vi, Airtel yet: TDSAT
Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Tuesday asked the Department of Telecom (DOT) to put on hold the encashment of bank guarantees(bgs) in the penalty case of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea till the next date of hearing.
The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) Bench headed by Justice Shiv Kirti Singh listed the matter for hearing on October 26.
“... No encashment of bank guarantee shall be resorted to till the next date,” Singh said.
According to DOT, companies are required to pay the penalty by October 21.
The telecom tribunal did not grant a stay on the penalty notice.
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea moved the telecom tribunal to challenge Telecom Department's demand notices for payment of ~3,050 crore cumulative penalties in the points of interconnect matter.
The DOT has slapped a penalty of ~2,000 crore on Vodafone Idea and ~1,050 crore on Bharti Airtel based on sector regulator Trai’s recommendation five years ago, for violating norms by denying Reliance Jio points of interconnect (Pois) way back in 2016.