Supreme Court rejects telcos’ plea seeking a review of its ₹1.47-lakh crore AGR dues
By MYBRANDBOOK
In a new development, the Supreme Court has dismissed the plea of both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, who were seeking a review of its earlier order that asked them to pay ₹1.47-lakh crore in past statutory dues of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) by January 23.
“Applications for hearing in open court/ oral hearing are rejected. Having perused the review petition and the connected papers with meticulous care, we do not find any justifiable reason to entertain the review petitions. The review petitions are, accordingly, dismissed,” a Bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah said in the order.
This comes as a setback to the telecom operators as the apex court verdict may force Vodafone-Idea to shut shop. The company has already made huge investments and there is not much to gain from its operations, due to steep competition from Reliance Jio and Airtel.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Vodafone-Idea, had also recently said that Vodafone may have to shut shop if the government does not agree to provide relief in the AGR case.
While Airtel has dues of over ₹35,500 crore, Vodafone Idea needs to pay more than ₹53,000 crore. Tata Teleservices, which has sold its consumer mobility business to Airtel, faces dues of ₹13,823 crore.
An Airtel spokesperson said the company was disappointed with the verdict and was evaluating whether to file a curative petition.
“We believe the long-standing disputes raised regarding the AGR definition were bonafide and genuine. The industry continues to face severe financial stress and the outcome could further erode the viability of the sector as a whole,” the spokesperson said.
Airtel said the industry needs to continue investing in expanding networks, acquiring spectrum and introducing new technology such as 5G. “The money now required to pay punitive interest, penalty and interest on penalty, which forms nearly 75 percent of AGR dues would have better served the digital mission of the country,” it added.
Vodafone-Idea also said in a stock exchange filing that the company is exploring further options, including filing of a curative petition.
But, analysts feel that if Vodafone-Idea shuts down its business, it will indirectly benefit Airtel.
The Supreme Court order of October 24 had directed operators to pay up their dues by January 23 following which the operators had sought a limited review of the ruling. The recovery of past dues by the government was based on AGR of around ₹92,000 crore. The October 24 verdict had widened the definition of AGR to include non-core revenue, leaving telcos and even non-telcos facing hefty statutory dues of more than ₹4.45 lakh.
BREAKING NEWS
TECHNO TRENDS
InterGlobe’s Rahul Bhatia and C.P. Gurnani together announce
In a move that is set to transform the AI landscape, Rahul Bhatia, Group M...
Download masked Aadhaar to improve privacy
Download a masked Aadhaar from UIDAI to improve privacy. Select masking w...
Sterlite Technologies' Rs 145 crore claim against BSNL rejecte
An arbitrator has rejected broadband technology company Sterlite Technolog...
ID-REDACT® ensures full compliance with the DPDP Act for Indi
Data Safeguard India Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Data Safeguard ...
E-Magazine
TECHNOTAINMENT
Salman Khan trolled for singing with B Praak at Anant Ambani's
To celebrate Mukesh Ambani's youngest son Anant Ambani’s 29th birthday
Disney+ Hotstar wins the Best OTT Platform of the year
Film Critics Guild and Group M Motion Entertainment, in collaboration with
MOVERS & SHAKERS
SISL elevates Ankita Wadhawan as CEO—End User Computing
The IT service provider, SISL in a LinkedIn post announced the elevation
InfoVision appoints Radhika Venkatraman to its Advisory Board
Global digital services company, InfoVision has announced the appointment
OPEN YOUR EYES
INTERVIEWS
Technology and a robust partner network help position Allied T
Allied Telesis in India has a strong and growing team that is very customer
ESDS commits to presenting clients with the latest technology
According to a NASSCOM report, the Indian IT industry experienced its stron
HOT PICK
Canon India Introduces 4K Remote PTZ Camera Controller & 4K In
Canon India, a leading company in digital imaging solutions, further solidi
Dell Technologies launches the new consumer and gaming portfol
Dell Technologies has unveiled its newest line of AI-enabled consumer PCs
MAKE IN INDIA BRANDS
STERLITE TECHNOLOGIES LTD.
GLOBUS INFOCOM LTD.
QUICK HEAL TECHNOLOGIES PVT. Ltd.
SAFE SECURITY SERVICES PVT. LTD.
EMINENT CIO'S OF INDIA
ICONS OF INDIA
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Shailender Kumar
Shailender Kumar is senior vice president and regional managing direct...
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Sandip Patel
Sandip Patel is the Managing Director, IBM India/South Asia. He is res...
Technology Icons Of India 2023: Shailendra Katyal
Shailendra is instrumental in Lenovo achieving the no.1 position in PC...
PARTNER SPEAKERS
PSU
GeM maintains transparency in online procurement of goods & services
Created in a record time of five months, Government eMarketplace is a ...
RailTel connecting every corner of India
RailTel is an ICT provider and one of the largest neutral telecom infr...
NPCI leading India towards Digital payments
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an initiative tak...
VIDEOS
Top 25 Brands
Value-Added Distribution
TECH DATA, A TD SYNNEX COMPANY
Tech Data Corporation was an American multinational distribution compa...
NETPOLEON SOLUTIONS
Netpoleon Group is a Value-Added Distributor (VAD) of Network Security...
INGRAM MICRO INDIA PVT. LTD.
Ingram Micro India, a large national distributor offers a comprehensiv...
ITFORUM 2024
WIITF 2024
CMO of the Year
WOMEN LEADERSHIP
EMINENT CIO's OF INDIA
TRENDS IN TECHNOLOGY
MORE VIDEOS
ADVERTISEMENTS
TECHNOLOGY DISRUPTION
UNICORNS REVOLUTIONISING
