Supreme Court dismisses Bharti Airtel subsidiary’s appeal against entertainment tax on DTH services

In its judgment dated May 22, 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by Bharti Telemedia Limited.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel said on Friday that the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by its subsidiary Bharti Telemedia on entertainment tax. Bharti Telemedia Limited had filed appeals before the Supreme Court of India challenging the judgments of various High Courts that upheld the authority of state governments to levy entertainment tax on DTH services.

In its judgement dated May 22, 2025, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by Bharti Telemedia Limited.

"The total estimated exposure arising from the judgment amounts to Rs 585 crore, which has already been fully provisioned in the company’s books," Bharti Airtel said in a statement. "Of this, Rs 575 crore has already been paid by Bharti Telemedia," the statement further added. "The company is currently reviewing the judgment and will determine its next course of action accordingly," it also said.

In Friday's trading session, Bharti Airtel's share price settled flat at Rs 1,831 per share on the NSE.

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel posted about a five-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 11,022 crore in the March 2025 quarter, mainly due to the tariff hike impact and one-time gain on tax benefits.

Bharti Airtel had posted net profit (attributable to owners of the parent company) of Rs 2,071.6 crore a year ago.

During the reported quarter, Bharti Airtel received favourable orders in certain tax-related matters, which helped it with a one-time tax benefit of around Rs 5,913 crore.