The Supreme Court is likely to hear on October 6 a plea of telecom major Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) seeking the quashing of the additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period until 2016-17.
According to the apex court’s website, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai has listed the fresh plea of the VIL for hearing on Monday, when the court reopens after the Dussehra break.
The top court deferred the hearing on September 26, after taking note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the Centre, to this effect.
The VIL has filed the fresh plea against the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) fresh demand of Rs 5,606 crore relating to the financial year 2016–17.
Earlier, the Centre had said efforts were on to arrive at a resolution with the company.
Mehta said the government held nearly 50 per cent equity in the VIL, making it a direct stakeholder in the operator’s survival.
“Some solution may have to be found out, subject to your lordships’ approval. If it can be kept next week, we can think of some solution,” the law officer said.
The VIL has 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 had refused to review its 2021 order rejecting their pleas for a rectification of alleged errors in the calculation of the AGR dues payable by them.
The court had dismissed their pleas seeking a review of the 2021 order.
On July 23, 2021, the apex court dismissed their applications seeking a rectification of the alleged errors in the calculation of the AGR dues.
The telecom companies had argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation be rectified and that there were cases of duplication of entries.
The top court, in September 2020, fixed a time frame of 10 years for telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR-related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.
In its September 2020 order, the apex court said that telecom operators should make the payment of 10 per cent of the total dues as demanded by the DoT by March 31, 2021 and the rest would be paid in yearly instalments commencing from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2031.
The top court, which held the demand raised by the DoT with respect to the AGR dues as final, said there should neither be a dispute raised by the telecom companies nor any re-assessment.
In October 2019, the apex court delivered its verdict on the AGR issue.
The DoT moved a plea in the top court asking for a staggered payment of the dues by telcos over 20 years.
The Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is the income figure used to calculate the licence fees and spectrum charges that telecom companies must pay to the government.
Earlier, the AGR included both telecom revenue and non-telecom income (like interest from deposits or asset sales).
In 2021, the rules were relaxed so that non-telecom income is no longer part of the AGR, reducing the financial load on operators.
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