Tata Teleservices (TTSL) has moved the Supreme Court of India seeking “recalculation” of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) fees as claimed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
It is expected to “highlight alleged errors in the DoT’s calculations," The Economic Times reported.
It is the third telco to take the matter to the SC after Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) – all of whom approached the SC after the DoT did not reply to their letters on the issue, it added.
TTSL has in its appeal to the apex court said DoT’s demand “exceeds its deemed revenue and adds up to more than the book balance,” lawyers told the paper. It also said that “double-counting and erroneously added monthly interest penalties should be rectified and adjusted.”
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
The company has Rs 16,789 crore AGD dues as per DoT, of which it has paid Rs 4,197 crore. Its self-assessment pegged the dues at Rs 2,197 crore which the telco paid first, followed by Rs 2,000 crore which it termed was done as “good faith.”
TTSL did not respond to queries, as per the report.
TTSL’s move comes after Vi moved the SC on January 8 seeking modification of orders over the Rs 58,400 crore AGR dues claimed by DoT. The telco, which has the highest bill to pay among peers, has cited “arithmetical errors in the government’s calculations” as reason for seeking the modification.
Of the Rs 58,400 crore bill, Vi has paid Rs 7,854 crore and has balance payment of Rs 50,400 crore due. However, its own internal estimate pegs the payable dues at Rs 21,533 crore. Notably, the SC has barred companies from self-assessing dues and accepted the DoT’s claimed amounts.
Prior to Vi, Bharti Airtel moved the SC on January 7 seeking lowering of AGR dues citing “miscomputation of dues.” It is also expected to argue that the Rs 43,989 crore demand includes license fee dues and spectrum usage charges – but the issue before the SC was limited to license fee and not spectrum charge, hence its inclusion in the total is erroneous.
Airtel has dues worth Rs 43,989 crore, as per DoT and has already paid Rs 18,004 crore. The balance payment is pegged at Rs 25,985 crore.
The Supreme Court on September 1, 2020 gave telecom companies 10 years to repay their AGR dues, putting an end to a case that was being watched closely for its implications for the telecommunications sector.
While giving the 10-year timeframe, from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2031, a bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah directed telcos to pay 10 percent of the AGR dues upfront.
A default would invite interest, penalty, along with contempt of court. The court also said no revaluation of AGR dues would be allowed.
The court had in October 2019 upheld the expanded definition of AGR as given by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which demanded more than over Rs 1 lakh crore from service providers.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
