Airtel, Vodafone Idea may have to pay Rs 1.42 lakh Cr within 3 months

Following Supreme Court's recent AGR ruling, telecom companies like Airtel, Vodafone Idea and ors may have to pay government a whopping Rs 1.42 lakh crore within three months, news ncy PTI reports. While Bharti Airtel faces a liability of around Rs 42,000 crore after including licence fees and spectrum us charges, Vodafone Idea may have to pay about Rs 40,000 crore. Jio may have to pay around Rs 14 crore. remaining liability is with state-owned BSNL/MTNL and some of shut/bankrupt companies.

w, Telecom Department is reviewing wher apex court order also impacts any or company which uses spectrum or has a licence. communications ministry has started examining wher Supreme Court's ruling on definition of telecom revenue may apply to any company that utilises rio waves and has a telecom licence, throwing up possibility of statutory dues swelling beyond Rs 3 lakh crore, according to a source.

A DoT official privy to development said instructions have gone to licencing wing to carefully examine implication of apex court's recent ruling for all such companies. Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will take a week or so to arrive at a definitive conclusion on matter, source ded. Supreme Court last month upheld government's way of calculating telecom revenue, on which licence fee and spectrum us charges are computed.

"As we dwell deeper, issue of larger implications of SC order is coming up for or firms," DoT official was quoted by PTI.

AGR beyond telcos

AGR issue may go well beyond telcos and include or categories of licences or companies utilising riowaves in oil and gas, power and even railways sectors. question before telecom department is wher statutory dues, refore, have to be calculated on overall revenue. In that case, statutory dues may climb beyond Rs 3 lakh crore, DoT official told PTI.

RE | Jio warns AGR relief to Airtel, Vodafone Idea will be contempt of SC

RE | Jio: Airtel, Vodafone Idea have sufficient capacity to clear dues

(With PTI inputs)