Vodafone Idea shares fell 6% on October 6 after Supreme Court deferred hearing on its AGR plea to October 6.
The telecom major had sought quashing of the additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period until 2016-17.
At 11:30 am on September 26, Vodafone Idea shares were trading 6% lower at Rs 8.14 apiece.
During the Supreme Court hearing last week, the Centre said it does not oppose Vodafone Idea's plea on the adjusted AGR dues. However, some solution was required as the Centre too is an equity holder in the company.
The Supreme Court had observed there had to be some finality to the proceedings and had deferred the plea to September 26.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria was hearing the fresh plea of VIL against the Department of Telecommunications' (DoT) fresh demand of Rs 5,606 crore relating to the financial year 2016-17.
VIL has said that the dues had already been "crystallised" by the 2019 AGR judgment, and could not be reopened.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, sought an adjournment on October 6.
The case stems from the Court’s March 18, 2020 order, which upheld AGR dues up to FY17 as calculated by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and ruled out any reassessment by operators.
Despite this ruling, DoT has raised fresh claims for FY18 and FY19. Vodafone Idea, in its September 8 petition, argued that much of the new demand overlaps with periods already settled by the Court.
The government now owns 48.99% of Vodafone Idea, having converted Rs 53,083 crore of dues into equity in two tranches—February 2023 and April 2025.
Of the Rs 9,450 crore demand, Rs 2,774 crore has been raised against Idea Group and Vodafone Idea (post-merger), while Rs 6,675 crore has been directed at Vodafone Group for the pre-merger period.
Vodafone Idea already owes about Rs 83,400 crore in AGR dues, with annual instalments of Rs 18,000 crore starting March. Including penalties and interest, its overall liabilities to the government are estimated at nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.
In its plea, the company said Rs 5,606 crore of the fresh demand relates to periods up to FY17, which have already been crystallised by the 2020 order. It asked the Court to quash DoT’s new claims for those years and order a full reconciliation of AGR dues.
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