SC Notes Telecom Firm’s Request To List AGR Computation Plea

The Supreme Court on Monday has acknowledged a telecom firm’s request to list its plea for correcting alleged errors in Adjusted Gross Revenue dues.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing Vodafone Idea, urged the bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra to consider the petition.

The telecom firm informed the court that its curative petition challenging earlier dismissals on AGR-related dues corrections had yet to be scheduled before a bench.

“I will see,” responded the CJI, inquiring about the status of an email on this matter.

Last year on October 9, the Supreme Court had taken note of similar pleas from telecom companies regarding alleged errors in the Department of Telecommunications’ calculations of AGR dues. In July 2021, the court dismissed a plea seeking corrections in the demand for AGR dues, totaling over Rs 1 lakh crore, claimed by telecom companies.

Vodafone Idea’s liability was reported as Rs 58,254 crore, while Bharti Airtel’s was Rs 43,980 crore. Initially, the court had granted telecom companies a decade to settle their dues, emphasizing that the DoT’s demand for AGR dues would be final without room for dispute or reassessment.

Telecom operators were directed to pay 10% of their total dues by March 31, 2021, and the remainder in yearly installments from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2031.

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