oppn parties No Recalculation: Telecom Companies Will Have To Pay Full AGR Dues In 10 Years

News Snippets

  • 2nd ODI: Rohit Sharma roars back to form with a scintillating ton as India beat England by 4 wickets in a high scoring match in Cuttack
  • Supreme Court will appoint an observer for the mayoral poll in Chandigarh
  • Government makes it compulsory for plastic carry bag makers to put a QR or barcode with their details on such bags
  • GBS outbreak in Pune leaves 73 ill with 14 on ventilator. GBS is a rare but treatable autoimmune disease
  • Madhya Pradesh government banned sale and consumption of liquor at 19 religious sites including Ujjain and Chitrakoot
  • Odisha emerges at the top in the fiscal health report of states while Haryana is at the bottom
  • JSW Steel net profit takes a massive hit of 70% in Q3
  • Tatas buy 60% stake in Pegatron, the contractor making iPhone's in India
  • Stocks return to negative zone - Sensex sheds 329 points to 76190 and Nifty loses 113 points to 23092
  • Bumrah, Jadeja and Yashasvi Jaiswal make the ICC Test team of the year even as no Indian found a place in the ODI squad
  • India take on England in the second T20 today at Chennai. They lead the 5-match series 1-0
  • Ravindra Jadeja excels in Ranji Trophy, takes 12 wickets in the match as Saurashtra beat Delhi by 10 wickets. All other Team India stars disappoint in the national tournament
  • Madhya Pradesh HC says collectors must not apply NSA "under political pressure and without application of mind"
  • Oxfam charged by CBI over violation of FCRA
  • Indian students in the US have started quitting part-time jobs (which are not legally allowed as per visa rules) over fears of deportation
Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh resigns after meeting Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda /////// President's Rule likely in Manipur
oppn parties
No Recalculation: Telecom Companies Will Have To Pay Full AGR Dues In 10 Years

By Ashwini Agarwal
First publised on 2021-07-24 07:35:06

The Supreme Court dismissed the plea of telecom companies to recalculate the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) which was put at Rs 1.69 lakh by the government and verified by the court in its earlier judgment in October 2019. The telecom companies had submitted that the AGR comes to only Rs 40000 crore on self-assessment by them. But the court was not impressed by their arguments and dismissed their plea. With this, the telecom companies, in a major setback, will now have to pay the amount in installments in ten years, as originally allowed by the apex court.

It needs remembering that the telecom companies had disputed the inclusion of dividends, profit from handset sales, rent and profit from sale of scrap in the AGR as they said that it was not their core business. But the apex court had confirmed that all kinds of profits made by the company will be included in the AGR.

In its September 2020 order the court had, while allowing ten years to the companies to make staggered payments of the AGR considering their precarious financial condition and on a request from the Centre, stipulated stringent conditions for such payment. It had said that all installments will have to be paid within the time stipulated by the court. Any default will attract full payment of dues along with interest, penalty and interest on penalty as per the original agreement.  

With this final dismissal of their recalculation plea, the telecom companies have no option but to pay the dues as mandated by the court. In the highly competitive sector, with thin profit margins, the telecom companies will be under stress to pay the amount but the 10-year staggered payment option granted by the court earlier is a huge relief for them. They must now comply with that.