SC Adjourns Vodafone Plea For October 13 Against Additional AGR Dues Raised By DoT

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned to October 13 the hearing of Vodafone Idea’s petition seeking relief from additional Adjusted Gross Revenue demands raised by the Department of Telecommunications for the period up to FY 2016-17.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran deferred the matter after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, requested more time to respond.

Vodafone Idea’s plea argues that the additional AGR demands pertain to a period already settled by the Supreme Court’s earlier rulings. The company has requested directions to quash the DoT’s additional demand and to direct the telecom department to reassess and reconcile all AGR dues according to the ‘Deduction Verification Guidelines’ issued on February 3, 2020.

In the petition, Vodafone Idea stated: “The action of DoT was completely unjust, unfair and arbitrary in seeking to raise additional demands despite the Supreme Court having crystallised the AGR dues and not carrying out a complete re-assessment since, while DoT is at liberty to raise additional demands, the petitioner is not being permitted to seek correction of assessments made by DoT which have been thrusted upon the petitioner.”

The company further claimed that errors in computation led to duplication of entries, with certain amounts allegedly added more than once.

Background

The AGR dispute dates back to the Supreme Court’s October 2019 judgment, which required telecom companies to pay outstanding dues to the government based on Adjusted Gross Revenue.

In September 2020, the apex court allowed telecom operators a 10-year window to settle pending AGR dues, with 10% of the total liability payable annually. The first instalment was due by March 31, 2021.

In July 2021, the court dismissed pleas by telecom companies, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, seeking corrections in the calculation of AGR dues, holding that the amounts were final under the 2019 ruling.

The Supreme Court will now hear the matter on October 13, which is expected to have significant implications for the telecom sector still grappling with the financial burden of AGR dues.