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The Supreme Court on Monday, during the hearing on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter of telecom companies, questioned the Centre as to how is it possible to sell the spectrum and whether it is transferable. A bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), to come prepared on the next hearing, and explain how can spectrum be sold or whether is transferable. The bench also asked Mehta to get the NCLT orders connected with the query, as it scheduled the next hearing on the matter on August 14. Mehta contended before the bench that the government has filed an appeal saying spectrum is a national property and it should not be part of bankruptcy assets. At this, the bench questioned: "Why there was a delay in filing the appeal? What if the spectrum is sold in the meanwhile?" Mehta contended before the bench that the Centre has told the National Company Law Tribunal that spectrum is a national property, cannot be an asset of the company, and it cannot be sold. The bench also questioned how Aircel's spectrum and license were sold and who gave the permission for it. Aircel's monitoring committee's lawyer contended before the bench that no dues to government are be paid under the bankruptcy resolution plan, and insisted that he will place the details in court. The lawyer contended that the company paid the money to buy spectrum, and it is a transferable asset. The Centre, however, said Aircel's dues were Rs 12,000 crore. As the bench questioned the DoT as to how it proposes to recover the <keyword id="8275485" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="agr-dues">AGR dues</keyword> from a company which has gone into insolvency, Mehta replied that DoT's stand is that spectrum cannot be part of bankruptcy assets.

Supreme Court adjourns AGR case hearing to August 14

The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its judgment on the issue of recovery of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues from insolvent telecom companies. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra is likely to pronounce the judgment on three counts: Staggered payment schedule, where the Centre said it is fine with 20-year arrangement to recover AGR dues; Can spectrum be transferred or sold by companies under IBC; and, additional liabilities, if any, on Jio, Airtel for the past dues of RCom, Videocon, and Aircel. Airtel had spectrum sharing and trading pacts with Videocon and Aircel, whereas Jio had it with RCom. The court had asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to share the details of 'demand under process' for raising the liabilities against Airtel and Jio in the backdrop of spectrum-sharing. The bench also comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah observed that if DoT does not provide the correct position on the AGR demands, then the due figures quoted in the ruling could go wrong. "It has been nearly 10 months to the AGR ruling -- why has the DoT not yet raised the demand?" The DoT informed the bench that no demand has been raised against Jio and Airtel for part dues of RCom and Videocon, and that the assessment of Jio and Airtel liability for the past dues is "under process". Senior Advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Committee of Creditors for RCom, contended before the bench that the right to use spectrum is an "asset which can be sold", if the company wants to. Salve added that the resolution plan proposes the sale of the right to use spectrum is in line with the licence trading guidelines. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Airtel, contended that if the liability of the past dues of Videocon were to be imposed on Airtel, why wait for so long. Instead, the DoT should have clarified it long back, he argued. The court observed that according to trading guidelines, the seller of the spectrum shall satisfy all pending dues, before the sale. The bench said that it understood that upon the non-payment of dues by the seller, the trading guidelines would transfer the burden on the buyer. The DoT counsel contended that under trading guidelines, the past dues have to be cleared prior to the spectrum-trading, and under these guidelines, the DoT could recover the dues from seller and buyers. The bench questioned why no demand was raised against Airtel for the past dues of the Videocon spectrum. Sibal said Airtel had been paying all pending dues since the acquisition of the Videocon spectrum in May 2016. The apex court remarked that what is being proposed seems like renting out a house to a tenant and the latter selling the house under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Supreme Court reserves order on recovery of AGR dues from insolvent telecom companies

New Delhi, Feb 16 () Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices are likely to make payment for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues on Monday to avoid stringent punitive action from the Telecom Department, according to official sources. The three companies are jointly liable to pay dues of over Rs 1 lakh crore, but they have informed the Department of Telecom (DoT) of making only partial payment, as per their representatives. "Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices have said that they will make payments on Monday. DoT will take action after evaluating the amount paid by them," an official source told . Earlier on Friday, Bharti Airtel offered the DoT to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20, but a DoT official said that the department can't grant any extension. Vodafone Idea on Saturday said that it is assessing the amount that can be paid towards AGR dues, even as it flagged concerns over the continuation of its business. Telecom operators are collectively liable to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore in AGR dues as per the Supreme Court order dated October 24, 2019. The deadline to pay the amount ended on January 23, but none of the telecom operators, except Reliance Jio, paid the amount. Even state-owned BSNL and MTNL did not pay the dues. As per the last available estimates, Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charges, to the government. Vodafone Idea is staring at dues worth Rs 53,000 crore, which includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee. Tata Teleservices owes around Rs 13,800 crore, BSNL Rs 4,989 crore and MTNL Rs 3,122 crore. Out of Rs 1.47 lakh crore, around Rs 1.13 lakh crore is likely to be recovered, as other companies, which are liable to pay AGR dues, have folded up their businesses. Reliance Communications and Aircel are going through insolvency proceedings. The apex court on Friday came down heavily on the Telecom Department for not taking steps to recover statutory dues, estimated to be around Rs 1.47 lakh crore from operators. The DoT issued fifth and final notice to telecom operators on February 14 for making payment on the same day, but none of the companies paid the dues. When asked about telecom operators having sought time to assess the amount they have to pay, the DoT official said that the court gave them three months to do so and even after missing January 23 deadline telecom operators had sufficient time to calculate their dues. "Before the due date, DoT has sent telecom operators 4 notices and reminders to pay to avoid punitive action under license condition. After court order on modification plea, telecom players are not left with any excuse to delay the payment and the DoT can take action against them without serving any further notice," the source said. The apex court pulled up telecom operators and the government on non-payment of AGR dues despite its order. It has asked managing directors and directors of the company to be present in person before court on the next hearing, scheduled for March 17, in case there is violation of its order in the AGR case. Public sector companies, that do not sell telecom services, owe DoT around Rs 2.65 lakh crore, with GAIL India alone owing around 65 per cent of the total amount. However, these PSUs have the option to approach court for a legal recourse. PRS RVK

Airtel, Voda Idea, Tata Tele likely to pay AGR dues on Monday: DoT sources

New Delhi, Feb 16 () Telecom operators <keyword id="6354287" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="bharti-airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone Idea and <keyword id="6359475" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="tata-teleservices">Tata Teleservices</keyword> are likely to make payment for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues on Monday to avoid stringent punitive action from the Telecom Department, according to an official source. The three companies are jointly liable to pay dues of over Rs 1 lakh crore, but they have informed the Department of Telecom (<keyword id="16054" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="DoT">DoT</keyword>) of making only partial payment, as per their representatives. "Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices have said that they will make payments on Monday. DoT will take action after evaluating the amount paid by them," an official source told . Earlier on Friday, Bharti Airtel offered the DoT to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20, but a DoT official said that the department can't grant any extension. Vodafone Idea on Saturday said that it is assessing the amount that can be paid towards AGR dues, even as it flagged concerns over the continuation of its business. Telecom operators are collectively liable to pay Rs 1.47 lakh crore in AGR dues as per the Supreme Court order dated October 24, 2019. The deadline to pay the amount ended on January 23, but none of the telecom operators, except Reliance Jio, paid the amount. Even state-owned BSNL and MTNL did not pay the dues. As per the last available estimates, Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charges, to the government. Vodafone Idea is staring at dues worth Rs 53,000 crore, which includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee. Tata Teleservices owes around Rs 13,800 crore, BSNL Rs 4,989 crore and MTNL Rs 3,122 crore. Out of Rs 1.47 lakh crore, around Rs 1.13 lakh crore is likely to be recovered, as other companies, which are liable to pay AGR dues, have folded up their businesses. <keyword id="46907" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-communications">Reliance Communications</keyword> and Aircel are going through insolvency proceedings. The apex court on Friday came down heavily on the Telecom Department for not taking steps to recover statutory dues, estimated to be around Rs 1.47 lakh crore from operators. The DoT issued fifth and final notice to telecom operators on February 14 for making payment on the same day, but none of the companies paid the dues. When asked about telecom operators having sought time to assess the amount they have to pay, the DoT official said that the court gave them three months to do so and even after missing January 23 deadline telecom operators had sufficient time to calculate their dues. "Before the due date, DoT has sent telecom operators 4 notices and reminders to pay to avoid punitive action under license condition. After court order on modification plea, telecom players are not left with any excuse to delay the payment and the DoT can take action against them without serving any further notice," the source said. The apex court pulled up telecom operators and the government on non-payment of AGR dues despite its order. It has asked managing directors and directors of the company to be present in person before court on the next hearing, scheduled for March 17, in case there is violation of its order in the AGR case. Public sector companies, that do not sell telecom services, owe DoT around Rs 2.65 lakh crore, with GAIL India alone owing around 65 per cent of the total amount. However, these PSUs have the option to approach court for a legal recourse.

Airtel, Vodafone and Tatas are expected to cough up spectrum dues on Monday

New Delhi, Feb 14 () As the sword of Damocles hangs over Vodafone Idea, uncertainty continues to mire the Indian telecom sector which has seen fall of several telcos such as Etisalat DB, Reliance Communications, Sistema Shyam and Aircel. The Supreme Court on October 24, 2019, ruled that statutory dues need to be calculated by including non-telecom revenues in AGR of telcos, leading to huge liabilities of Rs 1.47 lakh crore for telcos already hit by falling revenues due to fierce competition. After facing the ire of the Supreme Court, the Department of Telecommunications asked telecom licence holders to clear entire AGR dues totalling Rs 1.47 lakh crore by the end of Friday. Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), whose liability is estimated to be around Rs 53,038 crore including Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee, has already warned of shutdown if no relief is given. In this matter, Bharti Airtel's liabilities as per last available estimates added up to nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charge dues, Tata Teleservices around Rs 10,000 crore, Telenor (which sold spectrum to Airtel) Rs 1,950 crore. BofA Securities, in a note on Friday, noted "overhang on VIL" and questioned if India is inching towards a two-player market. "Every incremental decision pushes India to a two-telco market," it added. Market watchers, meanwhile, said in the event of any further consolidation in the market, the tariffs could well rise by 10-25 per cent. Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has said it will shut down business if the company has to pay the entire adjusted gross revenue amount and the government does not come to its rescue. Vodafone Group has said it will not pump in any fresh capital into Vodafone Idea. If the Aditya Birla group subsidiary shuts shop, Vodafone India will be the second-large company after Jet Airways to go belly up under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government. Vodafone Idea's gross debt, excluding lease liabilities, was Rs 1,15,850 crore as on December 31, 2019, including deferred spectrum payment obligations due to the government of Rs 88,530 crore. There were 13 telecom operators in the market when the Modi-led NDA government came to power in May 2014 but the companies started folding up due to market conditions and rising regulatory costs. Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read last year alleged that British telecom major Vodafone on Monday alleged that regulatory outcomes in India over the past two years have been against every telecom operator, except Reliance Jio. Vodafone Idea has claimed to have invested over 3.1 lakh crore in India which includes 1.39 lakh crore for spectrum payment. The uncertainty around Vodafone Idea has also put risk over jobs of 11,700 direct employees and around 1 lakh indirect jobs. According to Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani, there have been around 20 lakh job losses in the telecom sector. His firm amalgamated mobile business of Russian Conglomerate Sistema-owned SSTL to mitigate the debt burden due to lower margin in the capital-intensive telecom vertical. Later, RCom failed to merge business with Aircel and now both the companies are going through an insolvency process. According to official data, the telecom sector's gross revenue fell about Rs 41,000 crore in three years on account of a dip in mobile services rates between 2016-17 and 2018-19 and the adjusted gross revenue on which the government earns revenue, also declined by around Rs 46,000 crore. PRS ANZ MR

Vodafone Idea faces uncertain future over AGR woes

New Delhi, Feb 19 () The Department of Telecom is still working on final adjusted gross revenue dues that service providers have to pay as it has detected variation in accounting practices adopted by different circle offices, according to official sources. The licence finance wing of the telecom department (DoT) on February 3 issued a letter with guidelines to all controller General of Communication Accounts to reconcile AGR dues and asked them to give 15 days time to operators for the submission of appeals and documents related to deductions they make in the final payment, sources said. The letter was a follow up to a previous note sent by the licence finance wing on December 4 and a follow-up on December 13 to the circles for re-verification of debit voucher reports (DVR). "The department has been facing a challenge in carrying out the revised assessments due to various issues related to DVRs. Telecom operators, including Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have challenged many DVRs. "Also, circle offices have not adopted uniform practice in accounting. The DoT has asked them to re-verify DVRs at the earliest in the light of Supreme Court judgement," an official source said. Telecom operators have been submitting two separate audited details of deduction towards interconnection usage charges and roaming fee to the DoT. In one set, deductions have been claimed by telecom operators on a paid basis while on an accrual basis on the other. "DoT noticed that many Controllers of Communication Accounts have been cherry picking the figures claimed by telecom operators in their final DVRs. In some cases, DoT guidelines regarding deduction verification issued in 2014, 2015 and 2016 have not been followed. There have been cases where one CCA has allowed one kind of deduction and another has disallowed," the source said. According to estimates prepared by the DoT, Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charges, to the government. Vodafone Idea is staring at dues worth Rs 53,000 crore, which includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee. Tata Teleservices owes around Rs 13,800 crore, BSNL Rs 4,989 crore and MTNL Rs 3,122 crore. While the deadline to make AGR payment ended on January 23, 2020 as per Supreme Court order, the DoT has been following up with circle offices to verify DVRs of 10 years starting from 2006-2007 which involve around millions of entries in a quarter and then start verification for 2017-18 and 2018-19.The DoT on December 13, 2019, gave 15 days time to submit the re-verified accounts but the same could not be done in absence of uniform guidelines. "The headquarters will also need time to check DVRs once they are submitted by the circle office. Thereafter notice will be sent to telecom operators for submitting appeals and documents related to claims that are not admissible," the source said. The apex court on February 14 came down heavily on the telecom department for not taking steps to recover statutory dues, estimated to be around Rs 1.47 lakh crore, from operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices, among others. Of Rs 1.47 lakh crore, around Rs 1.13 lakh crore is likely to be recovered, as other companies, which are liable to pay AGR dues, have shut down their businesses. Reliance Communications and Aircel are going through insolvency proceedings.Of the total demand raised, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Group have made part payment of about Rs 10,000 crore, Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 2,197 crore, respectively.The next hearing of the case is listed for March 17. PRS MRMR

DoT still working on final calculation of pending AGR dues

(Eds: Adding details) New Delhi, Feb 15 () Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Saturday said it is assessing the amount that can be paid towards AGR dues, even as it flagged concerns over the continuation of its business. The company has maintained that continuation of its business will depend on the outcome of its modification plea filed before the Supreme Court.The firm is seeking more time to pay the dues, which is estimated to be over Rs 52,000 crore.The Department of Telecom, which faced the ire of the apex court, is mulling penal action against telecom operators for failing to pay in time the adjusted gross revenue dues.State Bank of India has expressed concern on the situation and said banks will have to pay the price if any telecom company shuts down. Besides the AGR dues, Vodafone Idea's gross debt, excluding lease liabilities, was Rs 1,15,850 crore as on December 31, 2019, including deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 88,530 crore due to the government.The apex court on Friday came down heavily on the telecom department for not taking steps to recover statutory dues, estimated to be around Rs 1.47 lakh crore, from operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, Tata Teleservices, among others.The DoT issued fifth and final notice to telecom operators on February 14 for making payment on the same day but none of the companies paid the dues.Vodafone Idea said that it has received notice from the DoT directing immediate payment."The Company is currently assessing the amount that it will be able to pay to DoT towards the dues calculated based on AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue), as interpreted by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in its order dated 24 October 2019. The Company proposes to pay the amount so assessed in the next few days," Vodafone Idea said in a BSE filing.Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), whose liability is estimated to be around Rs 53,038 crore, including Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee, has already warned of shutdown if no relief is given."As disclosed in the Company's financial statements for quarter ending December 31, 2019, the Company's ability to continue as a going concern is essentially dependent on a positive outcome of the application for modification of the Supplementary Order," the company said in the filing.The next date of hearing is scheduled for March 17, 2020.BofA Securities, in a note on Friday noted VIL is not in a position to be able to make the USD 3 billion payment upfront, while the recent QIP by Bharti makes them better placed to do so."If therefore it finally comes to the telcos making an upfront payment - VIL may look to shut shop, and in that event we see the possibility of government intervention to resolve the situation," it added.SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar on Saturday said banks will "have to pay the price" in case any telecom firm files for bankruptcy."If there is a negative impact on any enterprise, it impacts a larger ecosystem, whether it is banks, whether it is employees, whether they are vendors, consumers, so everybody gets impacted. So, that impact, when it comes, we will have to pay the price," Kumar said, when asked about the impact on banks if telcos move towards bankruptcy.RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday said the central bank will have internal discussions in case there are any issues arising out of the Supreme Court order regarding adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to be paid by telecom companies.Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charge, to the government.Vodafone Idea is staring at dues worth Rs 53,000 crore that includes up to Rs 24,729 crore of spectrum dues and another Rs 28,309 crore in licence fee, Tata Teleservices around Rs 13,800 crore, BSNL Rs 4,989 crore and MTNL Rs 3,122 crore.Out of Rs 1.47 lakh crore, around Rs 1.13 lakh crore is likely to be recovered, while other companies - which are liable to pay AGR dues - have folded up their businesses. Reliance Communications and Aircel are going through insolvency proceedings.Public sector companies, that do not sell telecom services, owe the DoT around Rs 2.65 lakh crore, with GAIL India alone owing around 65 per cent of the total amount. However, these PSUs have the option to approach the court for a legal recourse.Airtel responded to the DoT order of February 14 by offering to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20 and the remaining before March 17.The telecom department is mulling penal action against telecom operators for failing to pay in time the adjusted gross revenue dues as directed by the Supreme Court, according to an official source.With Saturday being a holiday in various offices, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is likely to wait till Monday evening for the payment before sending out the next set of notices with updated penalty and other punitive action as per the licence norms, the source told ."The DoT has sent five notices to telecom operators with reminders and penalty provisions on October 31, November 13, December 2, January 20 and now on February 14. Telecom operators are bound to pay as per the SC order and the department never gave them any extension. Now, telecom operators are saying they will pay a sizable amount by Monday but action will be taken against them for every delay," the official said.The Supreme Court has asked managing directors and directors of all defaulting telecom companies to be present in court on March 17 in case they fail to comply with its order. PRS BAL

Voda Idea to pay AGR dues but uncertain on future course; DoT mulls penal action

New Delhi, Feb 15 () SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar on Saturday said banks will "have to pay the price" in case any telecom firm files for bankruptcy, a day after the Supreme Court made it clear that telecom companies will have to pay the Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past dues. The chief of the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) said it is in the "wait-and-watch mode" and the onus of ensuring telecom companies' compliance with the Supreme Court order lies with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the government. "If there is a negative impact on any enterprise, it impacts a larger ecosystem, whether it is banks, whether it is employees, whether they are vendors, consumers, so everybody gets impacted. So, that impact, when it comes, we will have to pay the price," Kumar said, when asked about the impact on banks if telcos move towards bankruptcy. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the unveiling of artworks namely 'Manasvi' and 'Tapasvi' at the Local Head Office (LHO) here. Around 400 computers, more than 2,000 microchips, over 400 keyboards and above 200 discarded credit cards were used to create the two artworks. He added that the closure of any corporate impacts the country's economy and, therefore, the endeavour is to prevent the shutting down of any enterprise. Asked if any telco account is currently classified as non-performing asset (NPA), he said there are two accounts, Aircel and RCom, that went into bankruptcy. Besides, he said that SBI will not pass on the burden of the hike in premium of deposit insurance to its customers. "We never recovered the premium from customers, we will not do it now either. As far as the impact of the rise from 10 paise to 12 paise is concerned, earlier if we were paying Rs 3,000 crore now we will pay Rs 3,600 crore premium," he said. Following the failure of a number of cooperative banks, with Mumbai-based PMC Bank being the latest and the largest last year, the government hiked the deposit insurance coverage to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh in the Union Budget 2020-21. "The premium is something which, we consider, will increase from 10 paise to 12 paisa per Rs 100 for the time being. So, the impact on banks' balance sheets is not likely to be much," RBI Deputy Governor B P Kanungo said recently. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday said the central bank will have internal discussions in case there are any issues arising out of the Supreme Court order regarding adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to be paid by telecom companies. On Friday, the Supreme Court threatened contempt proceedings against top executives of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom firms for failing to comply with its directive to pay an estimated Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past dues. However, Das did not offer any specific comments about the order, which might have ramifications on banks in terms of their exposure to the financially-stressed telecom companies. The payments to be made by the companies include Rs 53,000 crore by Vodafone Idea, Rs 35,500 crore by Bharti Airtel and Rs 14,000 crore by the now-defunct Tata Teleservices. RSN HRS

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Supreme Court adjourns AGR case hearing to August 14

IANS