Supreme Court schedules hearing on Vodafone Idea’s Rs 5,606 crore AGR plea
The Supreme Court will hear Vodafone Idea’s plea on September 26 seeking to quash the DoT’s fresh Rs 5,606 crore AGR demand for FY 2016-17. The operator argues that the dues were crystallised by the 2019 verdict, amid government-backed resolution efforts
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on September 26 a plea of telecom major Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) seeking quashing of the additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period until 2016-17.
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.
The 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, pointing out that efforts were underway to arrive at a resolution with the company.
He said the government held nearly 50 per cent equity in Vodafone Idea, making it a direct stakeholder in the operator’s survival. “Some solution may have to be found out, subject to your lordship’s approval. If it can be kept next week, we can think of some solution,” the law officer said.
Referring to the verdicts, the CJI asked if the new petition should be entertained. “The last order passed by the other bench, we don’t want to….we have seen that order. There has to be some finality to the proceedings,” he said.
Mehta and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the telecom firm, said that now the circumstances had changed and the parties wanted to find a solution. “With the order passed in those four petitions…there has to be some finality to the proceedings,” the CJI said.
“Thereafter, circumstances have changed,” the law officer said. “What has prompted me to come today has nothing to do with the old case,” Rohatgi said. The bench then kept the case for consideration on September 26.
VIL filed a fresh plea on September 8 seeking 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 rectification of alleged errors in the calculation of AGR dues payable by them.
The apex court had dismissed their pleas seeking a review of the 2021 order. On July 23, 2021, the apex court dismissed their applications seeking rectification of the alleged errors in the calculation of AGR dues.
The telecom companies had argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation should be rectified, and 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 of the amount 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 AGR dues as final, said there should neither be a dispute raised by the telecom companies nor any re-assessment.
The apex court in October 2019 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.
Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is the income figure used to calculate the license fees and spectrum charges that telecom companies must pay to the government.
Earlier, 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 AGR, reducing the financial load on operators.
