Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd rose 10% on November 3 as Supreme Court clarified the telecom firm asked for relief on both additional AGR dues and reassessment of all dues.
The Supreme Court clarified that the government is free to consider relief on both additional and reassessment of the AGR dues.
The clarification came after Vodafone Idea sought a review of point number 6 in its petition, which talked about additional AGR demand up to the Financial Year 2016-17. Central government has also supported the demand.
Vodafone Idea had challenged DoT’s demand for an additional Rs 9,450 crore in AGR dues, seeking a waiver on interest and penalties. The operator, which owes around Rs 83,400 crore in AGR dues, has annual payments of about Rs 18,000 crore beginning March 2026. Including interest and penalties, its total liabilities to the government are estimated at nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.
On November 3, Vodafone Idea shares closed trading nearly 10% higher at Rs 9.58 apiece. A rub-off effect was seen in other telecom stocks like Indus Towers and Bharti Airtel, which rose 5% and 1%, respectively.
An earlier Supreme Court Order had suggested Vodafone Idea had sought relief only against additional AGR dues.
Vodafone Idea had sought a direction to the DoT to "comprehensively re-assess and reconcile all AGR dues for the period up to FY 2016-17 following the 'Deduction Verification Guidelines' dated February 3, 2020.
Earlier this year, in a setback to telecom majors, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the apex court refused to review its 2021 order rejecting their pleas for rectification of alleged errors in the calculation of AGR dues payable by them.
The telcos argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation should be rectified and that there were cases of duplication of entries.
Earlier, on November 3, a report said US PE firm Tillman Global Holdings (TGH) is in negotiations to invest $4-6 billion in the company and take operational control.
The Economic Times reported that investment will happen only if government provides a comprehensive package covering all the liabilities including dues based on adjusted gross revenue and spectrum payment.
"Currently, there is no proposal being considered by the Board that requires disclosure as reported by the media," the telco told stock exchanges.
"If the deal happens, TGH will take the promoter status and take control from existing promoters Aditya Birla Group and UK's Vodafone," a source told ET.
According to ET, an investment by TGH would result in the dilution of existing promoter stakes, with the government likely maintaining a holding below 49% through the conversion of dues over time into equity. Currently, the government owns 48.99%, while Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Plc hold 9.50% and 16.07%, respectively.
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