CAG finds under-reporting of revenue by 5 telcos

NEW DELHI: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India ( CAG) on Friday said it had completed the audit of five private telecom companies and estimated that these operators understated their average gross revenue (AGR) by Rs 61,064 crore during FY11-15.

CAG found short payments to the tune of Rs 7,698 crore to the government’s exchequer due to understatement of revenues by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL), RCom and Aircel.

CAG said that the amount includes Rs 4,532 crore interest dues on the short-term payments.

CAG said the understatement of average gross revenue was due to promotional schemes, such as like free talk time and discounts, and non-inclusion of profit from sale of investment.

Non-inclusion of interest income also led to understatement, it said.