Bharti Airtel moves Supreme Court over calculation of AGR dues 

In September last year SC had directed telcos to pay 10 per cent of their pending AGR dues upfront and pay the rest in annual instalments up to March 31, 2031.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel. (File Photo)
Telecom major Bharti Airtel. (File Photo)

NEW DELHI: Telecom major Bharti Airtel has approached the Supreme Court seeking a direction allowing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to “finalise” the assessment of AGR dues payable by Airtel “after taking into account” its representations on the matter. 

In a petition filed on December 31, 2020, Bharti Airtel prayed that the SC “modify/clarify/recall the orders” dated March 18, 2020, that had ruled that the final amount due and payable by Airtel was `43,980 crore—an amount mentioned in an annexure filed along with the DoT's modification application.

“Permit the respondent to proceed with and finalise the assessments after taking into account the representations made by the applicants in this respect and thereby determine the total amount due and payable,” Airtel’s petition said. 

In September last year, an SC bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah had directed telcos to pay 10 per cent of their pending AGR dues upfront and pay the rest in annual instalments up to March 31, 2031. The bench had also said that there was to be no re-assessment of these dues. 

However, a person with knowledge of Airtel’s legal rationale said that in this instance, the company was only requesting that the “respondent, the DoT, be allowed to fully finish its calculations” on the amount that is to be payable by the company. Sources also say that sector peer Vodafone Idea may also follow suit. 

So far, Bharti Airtel has paid Rs18,004 crore of its dues, while Vodafone Idea has paid Rs 7,854 crore, and according to the earlier SC order, they have to still pay the DoT another Rs 25,976 crore and Rs 50,400 crore respectively. Bharti Airtel did not respond to queries on the matter. 

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