The Government is reportedly not considering any waiver on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to telcos. The development comes as a major setback for big telcos including Bharti Airtel (Airtel) and Vodafone-Idea (Vi) which together have liabilities of around ₹1.20 lakh crore tos the exchequer.
Sources said the Cabinet Secretariat has informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the decision. The DoT had proposed a relief package, including a 50 per cent waiver on the interest component and a full waiver on penalties and interest on penalties. The proposal was recently sent to the Cabinet Secretariat for review.
With this recent decision, the hardest-hit telecom player would be Vi, facing estimated dues of around ₹80,000 crore. As per the similar estimation, Airtel is liable for around ₹42,000 crore.
The development could hinder further investment from both telcos in 5G network expansion and other service enhancements, said analysts.
The AGR issue surfaced in 2019 when the Supreme Court ruled that the telecom sector had long reaped the fruits of the Centre’s liberalised mode of payment by revenue sharing regime with the government.
As per the decision, the telcos had to pay a certain amount including the license fee and spectrum usage charges (SUC) to the DoT. The DoT had calculated the fee as a percentage of the AGR, following which the said amounts were levied on Airtel and Vi .
Since then, both the telcos have been pleading before the Supreme Court for re-computation through review petitions. However, the apex court has consistently dismissed their appeals (in 2021 and 2024).
In an interview with businessline on Monday, Jyotiraditya Scindia had declined to comment on AGR issue, but when asked about the fate of Vi, he said that every company has to comply with the rules while adding that the “Government of India believes that there must be healthy a competition in the telecom market and there are a very few markets in the world that have four players”.
