AGR case: Here are the key takeaways from the Supreme Court hearing

The Supreme Court (SC) on March 18 pulled up telecom companies and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for undertaking a 'self-assessment' of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

The apex court had on October 24, 2019, ruled that the statutory dues need to be calculated by including non-telecom revenues in AGR of telecom companies. It had upheld the DoT's definition of AGR and termed "frivolous" the nature of objections raised by the telecom service providers.

Also Read | AGR order: All dues to be paid, no self-assessment or objections to be entertained, says Supreme Court

The court had ordered telcos to clear total dues of Rs 1.47 lakh crore in line with the telecom department's estimate.

Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Teleservices owe the highest amounts to the DoT.

Here are the key observations made by the apex court during the AGR case hearing earlier today:

- The SC rejected the self-assessment exercise undertaken by telecom players, whereby the overall AGR dues of the companies involved fall almost Rs 82,300 crore short of the DoT's estimate.

-The DoT estimate of pending dues was confirmed by the SC, it said, adding that no backtracking in the matter can be permitted.

-The court also refused to take up the telecom department's request to grant a 20-year moratorium to telecom companies for repayment of the said dues. It said the application would be taken up at the next hearing in the case, after two weeks.

-The companies are trying to 'hoodwink' the court and violating its orders, the SC said.

-The top executives of all telcos involved in the matter will be summoned if required, the court stated.

-The media's role in the matter was also referred to by the court, wherein it said that articles in the newspaper will not influence its decision.

-The top court added that it would only consider looking at the manner of repayment of dues and no change in the amount payable would be entertained.

(With PTI inputs)