After all this time, DoT still figuring final dues

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecom is still working on final adjusted gross revenue dues that service providers have to pay as it has detected variation in accounting practices adopted by different circle offices, sources said.

The licence finance wing of the telecom department (DoT) on February 3 issued a letter with guidelines to all controller General of Communication Accounts to reconcile AGR dues and asked them to give 15 days time to operators for the submission of appeals and documents related to deductions they make in the final payment, sources said.

The letter was a follow up to a previous note sent by the licence finance wing on December 4 and a follow-up on December 13 to the circles for re-verification of debit voucher reports (DVR). "The department has been facing a challenge in carrying out the revised assessments due to various issues related to DVRs. Telecom operators, including Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have challenged many DVRs.

"Also, circle offices have not adopted uniform practice in accounting. The DoT has asked them to re-verify DVRs at the earliest in the light of Supreme Court judgement," a source said.

Telecom operators have been submitting two separate audited details of deduction towards interconnection usage charges and roaming fee to the DoT. In one set, deductions have been claimed by telecom operators on a paid basis while on an accrual basis on the other.