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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

<ul><li>India's second largest telecom operator by subscribers had bought spectrum from the now bankrupt Videocon for about ₹4,400 crore four years ago.</li><li>Since then, the <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> has ordered that companies that own spectrum will have to pay levies not just on their revenue from telecom operations but on the entire company's revenue. </li><li>Companies like Airtel and Vodafone are now battling a case in the Supreme Court seeking time to cough up a cumulative sum of ₹1.4 lakh crore.</li></ul>Airtel, India's second largest telecom operator by subscribers, had bought spectrum from the now bankrupt Videocon in six circles for about ₹4,400 crore four years ago. Investors fear the deal may prove a lot costlier after a bench of Supreme Court judges reportedly observed that the Sunil Mittal-owned company may have to cough up dues owed to the government by Videocon too. The fears have dragged Airtel shares down on Monday (Aug 23) by a little less than 2%, taking the one-month tally to a fall of nearly 10%. <div type="image" title="Airtel share price" msid="77715445" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;A bench of Supreme Court judges observed that the Sunil Mittal-owned company may have to cough up dues owed to the government by Videocon too. &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Since the deal between Airtel and Videocon, the Supreme Court has ordered that companies that own spectrum will have to pay levies not just on their revenue from telecom operations but on the entire company's revenue. Companies like Airtel and Vodafone are now battling a case in the Supreme Court seeking time to cough up a cumulative sum of ₹1.4 lakh crore (nearly $20 billion). <div type="image" title="image" msid="77715166" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Since the deal between Airtel and Videocon, the Supreme Court has ordered that companies that own spectrum will have to pay levies not just on their revenue from telecom operations but on the entire company&amp;#39;s revenue. &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> It's not just Airtel, the Supreme Court has made <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/agr-dues-reliance-jio-may-have-to-pay-for-rcom-and-airtel-for-aircel/2062226/" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">a similar observation for Reliance Jio</a>, India's largest mobile service provider owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, which had bought spectrum from the now bankrupt Reliance Communications, which owned by his younger brother Anil Ambani. The court has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to file details of spectrum shared by insolvent companies, dues that arose on account of shared spectrum, and if relevant dues have been paid. Shareholders of Airtel and Reliance Industries (which is the holding company for Jio) wait anxiously. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/tribute-to-arun-jaitley-from-finance-minister-nirmala-sitharaman-ahead-of-gst-council-meeting/articleshow/77713182.cms">Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s tribute to the late Arun Jaitley is also coming ahead of a tough GST Council meeting where states will ask for money</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/future-retail-shares-tank-as-a-crucial-payment-deadline-expires/articleshow/77713123.cms">Future Retail shares tank as a crucial payment deadline is set to expire</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/from-priyanka-gandhi-vadra-to-manmohan-singh-these-are-the-stated-views-of-congress-working-committee-members-on-sonia-gandhis-resignation/slidelist/77713740.cms">From Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to Manmohan Singh, these are the stated views of Congress Working Committee members on Sonia Gandhi's resignation</a>

Airtel stock is getting knocked down as investors fear it may have to pay Videocon's dues

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

<ul><li><keyword id="6354504" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>, <keyword id="6354287" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bharti-airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> and Vodafone-Idea owe the government ₹3.2 crore for call drop between September 2019 to June 2019. </li><li>The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is reportedly looking into additional AGR dues network operators may owe for companies that they acquired — like Videocon Telecommunications and Aircel. </li><li>Banks are also backing away from lending telecom players any additional funds to counter their debt. </li></ul>What started out as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/the-telecom-sectors-roller-coaster-over-the-past-four-years/articleshow/71755349.cms">Reliance Jio's tariff war against Airtel</a> and Vodafone-Idea has now turned into a full-blown crisis. The revision of adjusted gross revenue (<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/agr-woes-vodafone-idea-airtel-suffer-quarterly-loss-totalling-rs-74000-cr/articleshow/72059951.cms">AGR</a>) in October already sent the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/supreme-courts-agr-ruling-will-lead-to-telecom-sectors-collapse-ficci-to-fm/articleshow/72295713.cms">sector reeling</a>. Now, an additional penalty of ₹3.2 crore is being levied against them for call drops between September 2019 to June 2019. What's more, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is looking into additional AGR dues that network operators they owe on behalf of the companies they acquired. Airtel, for instance, might have to pay its own AGR dues as well what is owed by Aircel and Videocon Telecommunication, both of which declared bankruptcy. Bharti Airtel Chairman, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/reliance-jio-and-mukesh-ambani-have-unlimited-money-says-airtel-top-boss-sunil-mittal/articleshow/72485785.cms">Sunil Mittal</a>, has asked the government to lend a 'sympathetic' view in light of recent events. According to him, it's essential that at least three players remain in the segment. "It's a matter of survival," he said after a meeting with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Despite the industry's many appeals, no help seems to be on the horizon. Even banks don't want to lend network operators more money fearing that it will never be paid back. Call drop charges Sanjay Dhotre, the Minister of State for Communication, <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/telcos-penalised-rs-3-2-crore-for-call-drop-in-12-months-maximum-on-vodafone-idea/72492898">told</a> the Parliament that network operators in India owe the government ₹3.2 crore for call drops over a span of 12 months — more than half of which is from Vodafone-Idea amounting to ₹1.76 crore. Reliance Jio hit a big of good luck and was the lowest offender with fines of ₹6.5 lakh, while Bharti Airtel owes ₹43 lakh. Charges of ₹47.5 lakh were also imposed against government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). AGR dues might blow up even further The telecom industry's AGR dues currently stand at ₹1.47 crore after the Supreme Court order widened the definition of AGR to include non-core items. But that number might set to increase if acquired companies are taken into account. "DoT is looking into the spectrum trading deal between Bharti Airtel and Videocon Telecommunications and dues that need to be paid," a government official told <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/airtels-agr-burden-likely-to-get-heavier/72500239">ET.</a> Videocon Telecommunications shut down in 2017 after which it was picked on the cheap by Airtel. According to estimates, it owes the government around ₹1,300 crore in licencing fees, SUC, interest and penalties. DoT is also looking into Airtel's acquisition of Aircel, which owes a massive ₹10,230 crore in dues. But the Mittal-owned enterprise might not have to pay for all of it since most of the debt comes from Aircel's 2G and 3G airwaves — and Airtel only picked up the 4G spectrum. The government though has said it can't provide AGR relief unless directed by the court And since Airtel has been using their spectrum for 2G and 3G services, it is liable to pay the impending AGR dues as well. Help doesn't seem to be on its way The rating company, ICRA, maintain a 'negative' outlook for the Indian telecom industry. According to it, the recent increase in tariffs won't be enough to offset the blow of AGR dues. Banks are also <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/banks-may-not-fund-more-debt-to-telcos-for-agr-dues/72500447">backing away</a> from extending any more loans to network operators to help them pay off their debt. There is no respite on the horizon either, the government has <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/no-waiver-or-lowering-of-interest-on-agr-dues-centre/72500499">ruled out</a> any possibility of lowering the fines which are owed — despite the 7% <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/no-waiver-or-lowering-of-interest-on-agr-dues-centre/72500499">drop in revenue</a> for operators over the past year. Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea have till December 13 to clear any doubts — and have been <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/dont-delay-agr-dues-clear-doubts-by-december-13-government/articleshow/72449670.cms">warned</a> against any delay in the payment of dues. "Any issues should be pointed out in the comprehensive representation to be submitted, but in no case, the self-assessment and payment of dues are to be delayed," said the letter issued to telecom operators by the DoT. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/reliance-jio-and-mukesh-ambani-have-unlimited-money-says-airtel-top-boss-sunil-mittal/articleshow/72485785.cms">Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio has 'unlimited' access to finance, says Airtel top boss Sunil Mittal in his clarion call for government support</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/the-telecom-sectors-roller-coaster-over-the-past-four-years/articleshow/71755349.cms">The telecom sector's roller coaster over the past four years</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/article/airtel-and-voda-idea-could-pay-up-dot-but-what-about-13-telcos-that-died/articleshow/71750379.cms">Airtel and Voda-Idea could pay DoT, but what about ₹38,000 crore from defunct telcos?</a>

Three reasons why the Indian telecom sector's troubles went from bad to worse in the last 24 hours

<ul><li>The Telecom Regulatory of India will not eliminate interconnect usage charges (IUC) on 1 January 2020. </li><li>Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will continue to pay 6 paise per minute for calls to other networks. </li><li>While this may be good news for Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio is likely to bear the brunt/ </li></ul>Reliance Jio is going to continue being the ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambanis-jio-faces-backlash-for-tariff-increase/articleshow/71573757.cms">second SIM of choice</a>’ as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) decides to defer the elimination of interconnect usage charges (IUC) for another year. One of the ways that telecom operators generate revenue is by collecting IUC. It basically means that the network where the call originates has to pay the network of the call destination a small toll of using the latter’s bandwidth. In an ideal situation, especially since there are only three players in the market — Reliance Jio, Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel — these charges would even out. But, that isn’t the case. Reliance Jio gets the short end of the stick with more than half the calls on its network — 64% — going off-network, according to an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambanis-jio-faces-backlash-for-tariff-increase/articleshow/71573757.cms">India Ratings</a> report. Whereas Vodafone-Idea and Airtel subscribers only call off-network 41% and 45% of the time. Why calls are no longer unlimited on Reliance Jio The disbalance ends up making Jio the net payer of expenses, while its competitors end up being the net receivers. It’s also why Airtel and Vodafone-Idea can afford to offer free unlimited calling. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-airtel-and-vodafone-idea-charges-for-outgoing-calls-to-other-networks/articleshow/72440347.cms">Reliance Jio</a>, on the other hand, has to limit the number of free IUC minutes it can offer its customers. Good news for Airtel and Vodafone-Idea The decision to let the telecom industry collect IUC means that Airtel and Vodafone-Idea will continue to earn 6 paise per minute for calls on their network until 1 January 2021. The influx of revenue will provide some relief for the operators who first had to face Jio’s tariff war on data and then the S<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/reliance-industries-jio-stock-prices-shoots-up-after-supreme-court-verdict/articleshow/71737746.cms">upreme Court judgement</a> on adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is reportedly also looking into <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-airtel-and-vodafone-idea-face-more-financial-burden/articleshow/72513282.cms">pending license fees</a> under the expanded of AGR that Airtel may owe for the telecom companies it acquired — Videocon Communications and Aircel. Meanwhile, the company is heading up a <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/good-response-for-airtels-3-billion-fundraising-plan/72808998">$3 billion fundraising programme</a> across Singapore, Hong Kong, the US and Europe to meet its global investors and get more resources. Looking to the government to help Airtel and Vodafone-Idea <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/reliance-jio-and-mukesh-ambani-have-unlimited-money-says-airtel-top-boss-sunil-mittal/articleshow/72485785.cms">appealed to the government</a> to set a floor price for calling charges — a move that TRAI has been hesitant to initiate. It feels that since the telecom industry recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-may-still-have-the-cheapest-plan-on-offer-as-airtel-and-vodafone-idea-have-a-lead-on-telecom-tariffs/articleshow/72335722.cms">hiked its tariffs</a>, and free to do so again in the future, that is there no need to set a minimum price. Minister of Commerce and Industry, <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/government-cant-take-suo-motu-action-to-revive-telecom-sector-piyush-goyal/72773793">Piyush Goyal</a>, also stated that the department can’t act out of step against the government to save the telecom industry. “Government proactively or suo motu cannot take an action on this (AGR) but I assure you that we are in continuous dialogue,” he said. It hasn’t helped that Vodafone CEO Nick Read’s remarks were misinterpreted and reported as the company wanting to ‘exit’ India due to the AGR dues — invoking disapproval from the government. Telecom Minister <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/prasad-hits-out-at-vodafone-for-dictating-terms-to-india/articleshow/72773962.cms">Ravi Shankar Prasad</a> said that didn’t ‘appreciate’ such statement and that ‘no one should dictate terms’ on India. While things may look grime for Reliance Jio, experts feel that it will continue to be a market leader for the next two years. “Jio’s dominant position in terms of market share growth and data usage will sustain comfortably for the next 18-24 months, given its superior data speeds and 4G network coverage, even post change in tariffs,” according to <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/jio-likely-to-remain-market-leader-for-next-2-years-despite-tariff-hike/72809829">Centrum Institutional Research</a>. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-airtel-and-vodafone-idea-face-more-financial-burden/articleshow/72513282.cms">Three reasons why the Indian telecom sector's troubles went from bad to worse in the last 24 hours</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/reliance-jio-and-mukesh-ambani-have-unlimited-money-says-airtel-top-boss-sunil-mittal/articleshow/72485785.cms">Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio has ‘unlimited’ access to finance, says Airtel top boss Sunil Mittal in his clarion call for government support</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/reliance-industries-jio-stock-prices-shoots-up-after-supreme-court-verdict/articleshow/71737746.cms">It’s advantage Reliance Jio after Supreme Court verdict drains Airtel and Vodafone</a>

You Searched For "videocon agr" and got 5 results

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

IANS

Airtel stock is getting knocked down as investors fear it may have to pay Videocon's dues

Sriram Iyer

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

IANS

Three reasons why the Indian telecom sector's troubles went from bad to worse in the last 24 hours

Prabhjote Gill

Disadvantage Jio — Airtel and Vodafone Idea will continue to charge for calls on their network

Prabhjote Gill

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