Login With Google
No SC relief to Telcos
Why is it in the news?
- The Supreme court Bench dismissed petitions filed by telecom companies, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, for a review of its October 2019 judgment.
- The October judgment had upheld the recovery of past dues amounting to Rs. 1.47 lakh crore from them.
- The recovery by the government was based on adjusted gross revenue of about Rs. 92,000 crore.
More in the news
- On October 24 last year, the Supreme Court dhad upheld the Department of Telecom’s move to recover adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of about Rs. 92,000 crore from telcos.
- What is AGR Issue?
(1) Telecom operators are required to pay licence fee and spectrum charges in the form of ‘revenue share’ to the Centre.
(2) The revenue amount used to calculate this revenue share is termed as the AGR.
(3) According to government, the calculations should incorporate all revenues earned by a telecom company.
(4) All revenues including from non-telecom sources such as deposit interests and sale of assets.
(5) The companies, however, have been of the view that AGR should comprise the revenues generated from telecom services only and non-telecom revenues should be kept out of it.
(6) Finally, the Supreme Court had upheld the government's definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in October judgment.
- The Judgment to hit Digital India:
(1) Industry and experts said that the decision would hit the fund-raising and investment capability of service providers.
(2) Expressing disappointment over the decision, Bharti Airtel said that the money required to pay the interest and penalties on the pending dues, could instead be used for serving the ‘Digital India’ initiative.
(3) The sector is currently reeling under a debt of Rs. 4 lakh crore, is a key contributor to the Indian economy.
Source
The Hindu.