Telecom major Vodafone Idea has filed a fresh plea at the Supreme Court seeking further relief on its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum dues, CNBC TV18 reported. The telecom firm is seeking a waiver of over Rs 30,000 crore on account of penalty and interest.
Vodafone Idea maintained that the government is “handicapped” in granting relief due to constraints imposed by the AGR judgment. It further claimed that the government is now effectively a ‘partner’ in the company with 49 per cent stakes after it had converted AGR and spectrum dues into equity.
The telecom major has requested an urgent hearing on the matter on May 19.
According to the latest shareholding data, Foreign Portfolio Investors hold a 6.56 per cent stake, though no individual investor holds more than 1 per cent. The company has over 59 lakh small shareholders, or those with an authorised share capital of up to Rs 2 lakh.
In 2019, the Supreme Court had passed a verdict stating that the telecom sector had long reaped the fruits of the Centre’s liberalised mode of payment by revenue sharing regime with the government. This mechanism lets the operators pay a certain licensing fee and spectrum usage fee to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The Department calculated the fee as a percentage of the AGR. As a result of this verdict, Vodafone Idea has to pay estimated dues of Rs 80,000 crore and Bharti Airtel has to pay approximately Rs 42,000 crore.
Shares of Vodafone Idea were up 3.58 per cent at 3:50 pm at a trading price of Rs 7.23.