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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to October 27 the hearing on a plea of telecom major Vodafone Idea Ltd. seeking quashing of the Department of Telecommunication's (DoT) additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period up to 2016-17.
AGR is the income figure used to calculate the license fees and spectrum charges that telecom companies must pay to the government.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran, which was scheduled to hear the plea, was urged by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that the hearing be deferred and listed on reopening of the court after Diwali vacation.
The bench listed the plea for consideration on October 27.
VIL has filed a fresh plea against the DoT's demand of Rs 5,606 crore relating to 2016-17.
Earlier, the Centre said that efforts were underway to arrive at a resolution with the company.
Mehta said the government held nearly 50 per cent equity in Vodafone Idea, making it a direct stakeholder in the operator's survival.
"Some solution may have to be found out, subject to your lordship's approval. If it can be kept next week, we can think of some solution," the law officer said.
VIL has sought a direction to the DoT to "comprehensively re-assess and reconcile all AGR dues for the period up to FY 2016-17 following the 'Deduction Verification Guidelines'" dated February 3, 2020.
Earlier this year, in a setback to telecom majors, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the apex court refused to review its 2021 order rejecting their pleas for rectification of alleged errors in the calculation of AGR dues payable by them.
The telecom companies argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation should be rectified and that there were cases of duplication of entries.
In September 2020, the top court fixed a time frame of 10 years for telecom service providers struggling to pay Rs 93,520 crore of AGR-related dues to clear their outstanding amount to the government.
It said telecom operators should pay 10 per cent of the total dues as demanded by the DoT by March 31, 2021, and the remaining amount would be paid in yearly instalments from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2031.
The top court, which held the demand raised by the DoT with respect to AGR dues as final, said there should neither be a dispute raised by the telecom companies nor any re-assessment.
The apex court delivered its verdict on the AGR issue in October 2019.
The DoT moved a plea in the top court seeking staggered payment of the dues by telcos over 20 years.
Earlier, AGR included both telecom revenue and non-telecom income (like interest from deposits or asset sales).
In 2021, the rules were relaxed to exclude non-telecom income of AGR, reducing the financial load on operators.