Airtel seeks deferred payment and lower taxes because of ‘stress’ from Jio

Bharti Airtel has sought relief from the Indian government in form of lower taxes and deferred payment for the amount of its spectrum purchase.

The company, which recently saw a second successive decline in its quarterly profit, is suffering intense competition from Reliance Jio ever since the latter’s commercial launch in September last year.

"We need some rationalisation as the (telecom) industry is under stress," Bharti Airtel India and South Asia CEO Gopal Vittal told analysts after reporting a 72% decline in profit for Q4 of 2016-17.

The Airtel chief said that the government can also offer relief in the form of introducing a deferred payment mechanism for spectrum purchase.