NEW DELHI: Telecom service provider Vodafone Idea will have to pay its Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues in instalments until March 2041, according to a repayment plan approved by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
India’s third-largest telecom operator, in an exchange filing, said it 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 balance AGR dues will be repaid in equal annual instalments over six years from March 2036 to March 2041. The telco says its AGR dues — including principal, interest, penalty, and interest on penalty — for the period from FY 2006-07 to FY 2018-19 have been frozen as of December 31, 2025.
As per government calculations, the frozen AGR dues amount to around ₹87,695 crore. In a further relief, the DoT will constitute a committee to reassess Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues, whose decision will be final.
The revised amount determined after reassessment will also be repaid in equal instalments during the March 2036–March 2041 period. The development is expected to provide much-needed financial breathing space to Vodafone Idea as it continues efforts to stabilize operations and improve its financial position.
The government’s intervention follows Supreme Court judgments dated October 27 and November 3, 2025, in which the Court said there was no legal impediment to the Union Government reconsidering the dues, placing the matter within the government’s policy domain.
The Court also cited larger public interest, noting the government’s 49% stake in Vodafone Idea and the welfare of its around 20 crore mobile subscribers.
The relief package comes as Vodafone Idea continues to challenge the DoT’s demand for an additional ₹9,450 crore, while seeking waivers on interest and penalties on disputed components of the dues.
At present, Vodafone Idea owes nearly ₹2 trillion to the government, with about ₹1.17 trillion linked to spectrum dues and the remaining amount tied to AGR liabilities.