Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said that it plans to approach the government seeking a reassessment of its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, a day after the Supreme Court clarified that the government could undertake a comprehensive review of Vodafone Idea’s AGR liabilities, including interest and penalties up to FY17. The move marks a fresh attempt by the telecom major to revisit its long-standing dispute over dues that it says were wrongly computed.
“We welcome the fact that the recent order of the Supreme Court permits the government to undertake a comprehensive assessment, reassessment and reconciliation of the AGR dues including interest and penalties up to the financial year 2016–17,” Gopal Vittal, vice chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel, said during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
“The order has been made in the petition of Vodafone Idea. We are now planning to take up our matter with the government,” he said.
Vittal said Airtel has consistently maintained that the 2019 AGR judgment was a body blow to the industry. “The fact that even errors of calculation were not entertained is deeply disappointing,” he added, noting that the company would first reach out to the government over the coming days before deciding its next steps.
“We will be taking things one step at a time,” he said. “The first step is to reach out to the government, which we will do over the coming days, and then take it forward from there.”
As per the department of telecommunications (DoT), Airtel’s AGR dues stand at around Rs 44,000 crore, while the company’s own assessment pegs the amount closer to Rs 13,000 crore. The operator has already paid about Rs 18,000 crore, including a Rs 5,000-crore ad hoc payment. In April, Airtel had requested the DoT to convert its dues of roughly Rs 40,000 crore into equity, a move that could give the government a 3–4% stake in the company.
The Supreme Court’s latest clarification on Monday has given Vodafone Idea significant relief. The apex court said the government could reassess and reconcile all of Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues as of FY17, clarifying its October 27 order that initially limited the relief to additional AGR demands of about Rs 9,450 crore. The clarification allows a broader review, potentially covering the operator’s entire dues, which stand at Rs 83,400 crore, with overall liabilities to the government estimated at nearly Rs 2 lakh crore.
However, the court order said that the relief applies only to Vodafone Idea.
In May, the Supreme Court had dismissed petitions filed by Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Tata Teleservices seeking a waiver of interest, penalties, and interest on penalties related to their outstanding AGR dues.
