The department of telecommunications (DoT) will seek legal advice on the Supreme Court recent order allowing the government to revisit Vodafone Idea’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. While the judgment leaves room for the government to grant relief, it has also created uncertainty over the extent to which such reconsideration can be exercised, given that the apex court has confined its order to the company’s plea on a specific additional demand.
According to officials, the DoT is examining the implications of the ruling, particularly since the court has both acknowledged the matter as lying within the policy domain of the Union government and simultaneously limited the scope of relief to the Rs 9,449-crore additional AGR demand raised for the period up to FY 2016–17. Legal consultation is expected before the department takes any decision on whether and how to review the demand, sources said.
The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, while disposing of Vodafone Idea’s writ petition earlier this week, stated that it would not restrain the government from reconsidering the issue if it so desired in public interest. However, the bench also pointed out that the company’s petition itself was confined to the additional AGR demand raised by the DoT and did not extend to the broader dues determined in the 2020 judgment.
This nuanced phrasing has led to a measure of ambiguity within policy and legal circles. On one hand, it reaffirms the government’s discretion to act in view of larger economic and public considerations, including its 49% equity holding in the company and the interests of nearly 200 million subscribers.
On the other hand, it leaves little scope for any wider reassessment of Vodafone Idea’s overall AGR liabilities, which were earlier fixed at over Rs 58,000 crore, swelling to about Rs 83,400 crore with interest and penalties.
The DoT had in August issued a fresh demand of Rs 9,449.23 crore covering the period up to 2016–17, including Rs 6,675 crore pertaining to Vodafone’s pre-merger dues and Rs 2,774 crore post-merger with Idea Cellular. Vodafone Idea had challenged this, arguing that it breached the finality of the Supreme Court’s earlier verdicts from 2020, which had barred any recalculation of AGR dues.