Government asks Airtel, Vodafone Idea, others to pay balance AGR dues without delays: Sources

NEW DELHI: The telecom department has asked operators to pay their balance adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues without any further delay, increasing pressure on the likes of cash-strapped Vodafone Idea which is seeking some relief on its liabilities in a bid to survive.

People familiar with the matter said that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) wrote to all telcos, also seeking details and explanations of their self-assessment, which are needed for the government to reconcile with its calculations.

The government has so far received about Rs 26,000 crore from AGR payments, including buffer amounts given by telcos to meet any reconciliation differences. This is against DoT estimated dues of over Rs 1.46 lakh crore.


Of this, Vodafone Idea is the most precariously placed, having paid Rs 3,500 crore of the Rs 53,000 crores, as estimated by the DoT. It has said it will shut down if its bank guarantees are invoked to recover some part of its dues or if it doesn’t get relief on its AGR dues. Its self-assessment has pegged its AGR dues at around Rs 23,000 crore.

On a question in the Lok Sabha Wednesday on speculation that Vodafone Idea may shut down, minister of state for communications Sanjay Dhotre said, “no such information is available with the government”.

He said that against total provisional dues of Rs 1,46,336.9 crore, payments aggregating Rs 15,896.5 crore had been received. He added that the numbers could be revised once AGR figures are finalised and assessments concluded, and also subject to C&AG and special audits.

The government has placed Airtel's AGR payments (including Telenor’s) at Rs 10,000 crore, noting that as much as Rs 27,740 crore is pending. This implies that DoT hasn’t factored in the latest tranche of Rs 8,004 crore, including Rs 5,000 crore as the buffer payment that Airtel paid on February 29. The Sunil Mittal-led telco, which had initially paid Rs 10,000 crore, has estimated its dues at Rs 13,0004 crore, against the DoT’s estimate of Rs 37,740 crore.

Data shared by the government showed that the Tatas have paid Rs 2,197.3 crore, pegging their remaining AGR dues at Rs 11,625 crore, which implies that the government hasn’t taken into account the Rs 2,000 crore that the company paid on March 3. Additionally, the government said that Reliance Communications and Reliance Telecom – which are undergoing insolvency proceedings - have paid Rs 3.96 crore, leaving their balance dues at Rs 21,135.6 crore.

Dhotre said the Centre had directed the licencees to make AGR payments in line with the Supreme Court’s October 24 verdict, in response to queries on whether the government planned to penalise telcos who had not cleared their AGR dues.

“As per license agreement, the government (can) take action against licensees including telecom service providers (TSPs) over non-compliance of Supreme Court order dated October 24, 2019, on payment of dues of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT),” he said.

Last October, the nation’s top court had ruled that AGR should include non-core items, that left Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices alone collectively saddled with around Rs 1.02 lakh-crore of dues. Including the three, 15 telcos face dues worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore, as per DoT’s estimates.

Basis the order, the DoT had sought a cumulative Rs 2.7 lakh crore from non-telecom PSUs such as gas utility GAIL India and explorer Oil India. The demand was challenged by state-owned firms.