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Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> has approached the <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> over the assessment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues payable by the company. According to the telecom operator, the assessment by the Department of Telecommunications (<keyword id="16054" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="DoT">DoT</keyword>) has errors. As per DoT's assessment, Airtel's total dues stand at ₹43,980 crore, out of which ₹25,976 crore is due. Airtel's calculation, however, shows that its total dues stand at ₹13,004 crore. The telco has already paid ₹18,004 crore. "The applicants pray that the respondents be permitted to complete the process of assessments after considering the representations made by the applicants in this respect (including for the mathematical and calculation errors) and thereby determine the amounts due and payable," Airtel's petition said. The petition also seeks "limited clarification" or modification or recall of the orders dated March 18, 2020, September 20, 2020, and paragraph 38 (i) of the order dated September 1, 2020. In September, the apex court allowed telecom operators 10 years to pay up AGR dues. After Airtel's approach to the top court, there is anticipation that Vodafone Idea may make a similar move. Vodafone Idea's total AGR dues as per DoT stood at ₹58,254 crore, while the dues according to the company stood at ₹21,533 corre. So far, the company has made a total payment of ₹3,500 crore. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/the-agr-verdict-could-lead-to-a-reliance-jio-and-airtel-duopoly-in-the-indian-telecom-sector/articleshow/77883407.cms">The AGR verdict could lead to a Reliance Jio and Airtel duopoly in the Indian telecom sector</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-added-3-77-million-and-jio-added-1-46-million-new-subscribers-in-september-month/articleshow/79558962.cms">Airtel records 3.8 million new subscribers in September – more than twice that of Reliance Jio’s additions</a>

Airtel approaches Supreme Court claiming error in assessment of AGR dues by DoT

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Department of Telecommunication (DoT) not to invoke bank guarantee given by Bharti <keyword id="15491" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="airtel" source="Orion">Airtel</keyword> for a period of three weeks for not clearing Videocon Telecommunications Ltd's adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of over Rs 1,300 crore. A bench headed by Justices L. Nageswara Rao and comprising Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and M. R. Shah declined to entertain Airtel's plea challenging the DoT demand, but it allowed the telecom firm to approach the appropriate forum against the government decision. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Bharti Airtel, argued that his client received a communication on August 17, saying the firm must make payment and if it fails to do so, then there is a possibility of invoking various bank guarantees. He contended that Rs 18,000 crore dues have already been paid by the telecom company, according to the top court's order and there is another figure, which is attributed to Videocon Telecommunications. He added that there is a particular spectrum traded by Videocon to Airtel and citing the spectrum trading guidelines, he added the seller shall clear all dues prior to concluding any agreement for spectrum trading. "The liability is of Videocon... full liability of the seller," submitted Divan. Divan argued that by adding the dues of Videocon to the demand made from Airtel, the DoT has violated the apex court's order that AGR dues cannot be recalculated or reassessed. The top court said it will not interfere with its order, rather it will grant liberty to Airtel to move any other alternate forum to redress its grievances. Divan said that the alternate forum will be the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Earlier this year, in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on the status of statutory dues paid by telecom operators, the DoT said it is planning to slap Videocon Telecommunications Ltd's AGR dues over Rs 1,300 crore on Bharti Airtel. Videocon Telecommunications had sold spectrum of 30 MHz to Bharti Airtel in 2016. Concluding the hearing, the top court allowed Airtel to withdraw the application and also restrained the DoT from invoking its bank guarantees for 3 weeks. According to the Centre's calculations, the total AGR liability of Bharti Airtel is Rs 43,980 crore, Vodafone Idea's is Rs 58,254 crore, Tata group's is Rs 16,798 crore, BSNL owes Rs 5,835.85 crore, and MTNL Rs 4,352.09 crore. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-added-5-million-new-4g-users-tariff-hike-hopes-and-record-broadband-customer-addition-surge-share-price/articleshow/85039298.cms">Five million new 4G users, tariff hike hopes and record broadband customer addition send Airtel's stock to a 6-month high</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/the-enormous-gap-between-vodafone-idea-on-one-hand-airtel-and-jio-on-the-other/articleshow/85035781.cms">The enormous gap between Vodafone Idea on one hand, Airtel and Jio on the other</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-loses-over-4-million-subscribers-airtel-and-jio-add-over-9-million-in-june/articleshow/85589113.cms">Vodafone Idea loses over 4 million subscribers, Airtel and Jio add over 9 million in June</a>

AGR case: Supreme Court directs DoT not to enchash Airtel's bank guarantees for three weeks

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, Mar 1 () The "test checks" as promised by the government on AGR-hit telecom companies' dues assessment could start this week for large telcos, according to a senior DoT official. The government also wants Vodafone Idea to expedite its self-assessment, and Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash is believed to have communicated DoT's views in this regard to VIL, CEO and MD Ravinder Takkar during a recent meeting on Friday evening. A DoT official said that "test checks" of AGR calculation for a sample year would commence shortly and it could be as early as this week at least for large telecom companies. On Saturday, telecom operator Bharti Airtel said it has made payment of Rs 8,004 crore towards adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the government, an amount over and above Rs 10,000 crore it has already paid. The amount of Rs 8,004 crore includes Rs 3,004 crore towards full and final settlement on AGR dues based on self assessment, and a deposit of buffer Rs 5,000 crore to cover DoT's reconciliation differences. "Based on the aforesaid payment we have now complied with AGR judgement and the directions in the order of the Supreme Court dated October 24, 2019," Airtel said in a regulatory filing. According to the Department of Telecom (DoT) estimates, however, Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,000 crore. DoT is also asking three telecom companies Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices to provide substantiating documents to support their claims on AGR arithmetic. Once substantiating documents are filed by the companies, the telecom department will initiate random 'test checks' on the AGR calculation in a time-bound manner. The 'test check' will be done for any one year (of telcos' dues) to examine the deviation between telecom companies' assessment and the government's own calculation of AGR liabilities. In all, 15 entities owe the government Rs 1.47 lakh crore in unpaid statutory dues -- Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges. Of the estimated dues that include interest and penalty for late payments, Airtel and Vodafone Idea account for about 60 per cent. These dues arose after the Supreme Court, in October last year, upheld the government's position on including revenue from non-core businesses in calculating the annual AGR of telecom companies, a share of which is paid as licence and spectrum fee to the exchequer. The Supreme last month rejected a plea by mobile carriers such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea for extension in the payment schedule and asked companies to deposit their past dues for spectrum and licences. Since then, telecom firms and the telecom ministry had been doing separate maths on the actual dues. Vodafone Idea, which is confronted with Rs 53,000 crore in statutory dues as per DoT's calculation, has so far paid only seven per cent of those dues in two tranches. Airtel has paid over Rs 18,000 crore out of its DoT estimated liability of over Rs 35,000 crore. Tata Teleservices has paid Rs 2,197 crore, the entire outstanding it believes to have arisen after the October ruling of the apex court for calculating dues. Both Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal and Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla continued to meet top government functionaries over the last few days to seek prompt measures that would offer a breather to the troubled sector. Mittal has urged the government for reduction in levies and taxes, as he termed the AGR "an unprecedented crisis for industry". Even as the AGR-crisis has pushed telcos to the brink, the crucial meeting of Digital Communications Commission (DCC) on Friday discussed options on relief to the distressed telecom sector but could not arrive at a decision, as government officials said more details are required for reconciliation of data on statutory dues. Telecom companies have been desparately waiting for a bailout package from the Government after an SC-order on statutory dues, and all eyes were on the DCC meet for the much-needed breather to fix the AGR imbroglio. MBI DRRDRR

'Test checks' on AGR-hit telcos' dues assessment may start this week: DoT sources

New Delhi, June 12 () Bharti Airtel is better placed to offer guarantees for securing staggered payments, if permitted, in the AGR matter where the Supreme Court has asked private telcos for road map on payment, timelines, and the security they can furnish, said analysts while airing mixed views on sustainability of Vodafone Idea. Higher liability and keenness on debt reduction will ensure pricing discipline in sector, analysts said. The Supreme Court on Thursday asked telecom companies, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd, to file affidavit explaining the time needed by them to clear the remaining statutory dues that arose from the court verdict of including non-telecom revenues for calculating dues to the government. "While reiterating that AGR dues have to be paid, the apex court indicated that staggered payment will be allowed only if guarantees for payments are given. We see Bharti Airtel better placed to furnish guarantee," Axis Capital said in a note citing the company's fund raising drive, assets available for monetisation and AGR payments already cleared. Vodafone Idea (VIL) may also manage to furnish guarantee given large assets available with Aditya Birla Group, but its balance sheet would remain stretched, it added. There is strong possibility of Vodafone Idea to stay as a going concern if petition for staggered payment of Adjusted Gross revenue (AGR) dues is accepted and government/company take steps to ensure its viability, Axis Capital said. CLSA said Bharti Airtel's AGR risk is lower as it has already paid about Rs 18,000 crore (including adhoc payment) after fundraising, and it awaits final DoT demands. "We believe with likely AGR relief in staggered payments and lower DoT final demand, Voda Idea will reconsider insolvency plans," it said. Edelweiss said it believed deferred payment over 15–20 years is critical to sustaining a three-private-player market. "We believe telco promoters are unlikely to hand out personal guarantees; instead, accepting terms such as licence cancellation, no dividend/buyback till repayment, etc look more feasible," Edelweiss said in its report. Stating that it remains positive on Bharti Airtel on considerations of strong network and balance sheet, it added overall given the higher liability for telecom companies and their keener focus on debt reduction, pricing discipline is expected to be maintained. Credit Suisse said that long-term viability of Vodafone Idea "continues to remain under a cloud", and maintained preference for Bharti Airtel, which is said is well-positioned to benefit from the improving sector dynamics led by improvement in mobile pricing. While VIL can manage its cash flow needs till FY22 mainly on account of a two year moratorium on deferred spectrum debt, the company could find it "challenging" to service the AGR dues in case the tenure for staggered payment is short, say less than 10 years, the Credit Suisse note said. ICICI Securities also cautioned that lower payment period may increase payment burdens for VIL, amid indication that the company does not have enough cash for running operations. For guarantees, Bharti is comfortably positioned, while VIL is in a tough spot, it said. Motilal Oswal said price increase is inevitable and that Vodafone Idea would need about 50 per cent hike in Average Revenue per User (ARPU) to support cashflow. Citi, in its report, said that uncertainty for Voda Idea remains high. "For the company to be able to repay its AGR dues and meet its enhanced cash flow requirements in FY23E (when the 2-year spectrum moratorium ends), this would require a combination of additional tariff hikes, equity infusion, tower monetisation, and rationalisation of levies, the quantum of which would vary with the time period agreed upon for repayment of the dues," Citi said. MBI MKJ

You Searched For "airtel agr" and got 5 results

Airtel approaches Supreme Court claiming error in assessment of AGR dues by DoT

IANS

AGR case: Supreme Court directs DoT not to enchash Airtel's bank guarantees for three weeks

IANS

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

IANS

'Test checks' on AGR-hit telcos' dues assessment may start this week: DoT sources

PTI

AGR issue: Analysts say Bharti Airtel at lower risk, mixed views on Voda Idea sustainability

PTI

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