NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it has already paid up AGR liabilities that arise from its spectrum sharing deal with bankrupt Reliance Communications (RCom). RJio, its counsel submitted, was also ready to meet any such liability in case the court found that there was a shortage.
The SC bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah had sought the Centre’s view on Monday on why RJio, which shares spectrum with RCom since 2016, should not pay taxes on revenues it earns from the shared spectrum.
On Tuesday, senior advocate Harish Salve, representing RJio and RCom’s Committee of Creditors (CoC) told the bench that RJio has “been paying” statutory dues on revenue earned from the spectrum it shares with RCom—around 30 per cent of RCom’s total spectrum assets. However, Salve ruled out any possibility of RJio paying duties on revenues earned by RCom through the spectrum assets.
According to the Department of Telecom (DoT), RCom owes around Rs 31,000 crore in AGR dues. The bankrupt company’s proposed resolution plan will see UV Asset Reconstruction Company (UVARC) take over the firm for just over Rs 15,000 crore, with a fair value for RCom placed at around Rs 10,000 crore by its counsel during Monday’s proceedings.
The bench however had questioned how the net value had fallen so steeply from the Rs 35,000 crore quoted in a previous proposal in 2019. On Tuesday, it reiterated that since AGR dues of bankrupt firms were substantial, it was important to find a way to recover the money. Salve also submitted before the bench that spectrum rights granted under a license could be sold to another entity and could be a part of a
resolution plan for a bankrupt license-holder. However, the bench raised the question of how a license could be transferred when the dues arising from it haven’t been paid by the company.
Rcom Dues