After SC rap, telcos told to clear dues instantly
NEW DELHI: After Supreme Court rap, the Telecom Department on Friday began issuing orders, asking firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear past dues immediately.
The DoT, which faced the ire of the Supreme Court for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom companies, started issuing circle or zone-wise demand notices to firms, according to the order copies reviewed. The Supreme Court had asked companies to clear their AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) dues, totalling an estimated Rs 1.47 lakh crore, before the next date of hearing on March 17.
Airtel responded to DoT order by offering to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20 and the remaining before March 17. Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charge, to the government. There was no word from Vodafone Idea, whose chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had last month stated that the company will fold if it is forced to make payment of over Rs 53,000 crore dues. And so, the DoT issued circle wise demand notices to telecom firms. An order for the UP (West) Telecom Circle asked “all telecom service providers” to clear dues by 11.59 pm Friday. It asked companies to “make the payment of outstanding dues of licence fee and spectrum usage charges by 14.02.2020, 11:59 PM positively”.
Another order issued for the Rajasthan circle sought “immediate” payments, failing which action would be initiated. It sought “immediate payment of due licence fee and spectrum usage charges along with interest, penalty and interest on penalty (if applicable)” and warned that if the dues are not paid immediately, “necessary action will be taken in terms of the provisions of licence agreement without any further notice”. “This may be treated as most urgent,” it added. Prior to issuing the demand orders, the DoT withdrew its order which restrained action against any of the companies who fail to pay up dues by the Supreme Court-mandated deadline of January 23.
SC ‘outraged’, threatens contempt action The Supreme Court on Friday threatened contempt proceedings against top executives of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom firms for failing to comply with its directive to pay an estimated Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past dues, and asked whether there was no law left in the country. The apex court expressed 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 MR Shah said the companies have violated its order “in pith and substance” and asked them to clear 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 to the directions issued by this court,” they said in the order. Separate petitions filed by non-telecom firms such as gas utility GAIL and power transmission firm PowerGrid, who were slapped with a demand of Rs 2.65 lakh crore by the DoT, were withdrawn by the applicants after the court said they can represent their case at appropriate forms. The apex court also issued notice to the officer. The SC made it clear that in case its order is not complied with, the desk officer of the DoT and top executives of these companies “shall remain personally present” before it on March 17. “Who is generating all this? Is there no law left in the country? I am literally anguished. I feel I should not work in this court and in this system. I am saying this with a full sense of responsibility,” Justice Mishra said.