What Supreme Court’s decision could mean for telcos

The Supreme Court has listed for Thursday the limited review petitions filed by Bharti Airtel/ Vodafone Idea/Tata Teleservices and a few PSUs against the apex court’s earlier verdict widening the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) to include non-core items. If the verdict doesn’t go in telcos’ favour, they will have to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore of licence fees (over Rs 92,000 crore), spectrum usage charge (SUC), interest and penalties by January 23. Vodafone Idea and Airtel will be the worst hit, with dues of over Rs 53,000 crore and Rs 35,500 crore, respectively. Interest and penalties make up about 75 per cent of the dues. A favourable outcome could include deferred payments and a penalty waive off. Built in below are some scenarios that could be the result of SC’s decision and its impact on the telecom sector.