NEW DELHI: In a setback to telecom service provider Vodafone Idea, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has extended the deadline for reassessing adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of Vodafone Idea till June 30. Earlier, the ministry had set a target to complete this reassessment by March 31. According to officials in the DoT, Vodafone Idea could not submit the required documents related to Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) in multiple circles on time, and the field offices (CCAs) faced delays in completing the exercise. As a result, the DoT has now extended the deadline for completing the full reassessment — including both license fee and spectrum usage charge components — to June 30.
The move follows directions from the Supreme Court, which had asked the telecom department to provide relief to the debt-laden Vodafone Idea. As part of the relief measures, the government has frozen VIL’s AGR dues pertaining to the period from FY 2006–07 to FY 2018–19 at ₹87,695 crore as on 31 December 2025, subject to reassessment. This amount excludes AGR dues for FY 2017–18 and FY 2018–19, which have already been finalised by the court. The frozen AGR dues as on 31 December 2025 will also be subject to reassessment by the DoT.
In a stock exchange filing, Vodafone Idea said it will repay its AGR dues in instalments until March 2041. The company will pay a maximum of ₹124 crore annually from March 2026 to March 2031, followed by ₹100 crore per year between March 2032 and March 2035. The remaining dues will be repaid in equal annual instalments from March 2036 to March 2041. Under the earlier payment schedule, the telco was required to pay nearly ₹18,000 crore by March 2026.
Overall, telecom operators in India owe ₹1,77,915 crore in AGR dues, including interest, as calculated up to 31 December 2025. Vodafone Idea has the highest liability at ₹89,952 crore, followed by Bharti Group at ₹51,091 crore, Tata Group at ₹20,426 crore, MTNL at ₹14,462 crore, and Reliance Jio at ₹1,984 crore.
The government has constituted a committee comprising a retired Secretary-level officer of the Government of India and a representative of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), as nominated by the CAG, that will decide on the outcome of the reassessment by the telecom department. "The Committee shall finalise the outcome of the reassessment within a period of two months, unless extended," he had said in the reply, adding that the decision of the committee shall be final and binding on both parties, that is, DoT and VIL.