Telcos face midnight DoT deadline
Move to recover `1.47 lakh cr gathers pace after SC rap
New Delhi, Feb. 14: After a rap from the Supreme Court, the telecom department began issuing orders, directing companies such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues before Friday midnight.
The DoT, which faced the ire of the SC for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom firms, started issuing circle or zone-wise demand notices to firms, an order said.
The order issued on Friday by the UP (West) Telecom Circle asked “all telecom service providers” to clear dues by 11.59 pm Friday. “With reference to subject cited above, you are hereby directed to make the payment of outstanding dues of licence fee and spectrum usage charges by 14.02.2020, 11.59 pm positively,” it said.
One of the telecom operators, who did not wish to be named, confirmed the receipt of the said order from the circle. While in all, 15 entities owe the government `1.47 lakh crore — `92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another `55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges — it is not immediately clear just how much of that was sought by the government by midnight.
The order issued the circle-based Controller of Communication Accounts came after the telecom department earlier on Friday withdrew its order that asked for no coercive action against telecos defaulting on statutory dues payment.
The circular was withdrawn by the telecom department immediately after the SC took a strong view of non-compliance in payment of dues by telecom companies. The DoT order issued to its field offices subsequently had asked for “immediate necessary action” in compliance with the October judgment of the SC.
The direction by the DoT had said its previous order dated January 23, 2020 “stands withdrawn with immediate effect”.
“It is directed to take necessary action in compliance with the order dated October 24, 2019 of the SC,” said the fresh order issued by the DoT.
The Supreme Court on Friday threatened contempt proceedings against top executives of telecom giants like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and others for failing to comply with its directive to pay an estimated `1.47 lakh crores in past dues. In a judgment which will have far-reaching implications for the telecom sector, the court also expressed its displeasure at the “temerity” of a desk officer in the department of telecom for “scuttling” its order by issuing a written directive to not take any coercive action against firms for not depositing dues by the January 23, 2020 deadline.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S. Abdul Nazeer and M.R. Shah said the companies have violated its order and asked them to clear the dues before the next date of hearing on March 17.
“In spite of the dismissal of the review application (filed by the telcos), they have not deposited any amount so far. It appears the way in which things are happening that they have scant respect for the directions issued by this court,” they said in the judgment.
Separate petitions filed by non-telecom firms such as gas utility GAIL and power transmission firm PowerGrid, who were slapped with a demand of `2.65 lakh crores by the DoT, were withdrawn by the applicants after the court said they can represent their case at appropriate forms.
The court on Friday issued showcause notices to the managing directors/directors of the telecom service providers, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for not complying with its 2019 order to pay the government `92,000 crores in dues.
The court order said: “It is made clear that in case the order passed by this court is not complied with, the above persons shall remain personally present in court on the next date of hearing.”
Besides this, the court also took a serious view of the “temerity” of a DoT desk officer in directing the accountant-general, a constitutional authority, “not to insist for any payment pursuant to the order passed by this court and not to take any coercive steps till further orders”. Observing that this was nothing but “staying” its October 2019 order, the court said: “This is nothing but a device to scuttle the order of this court. This kind of order should not have been passed by the desk officer at all.” “In the circumstances”, the court said, “we draw contempt proceedings against the desk officer for passing the order and violating the order passed by this court.”