Vodafone Idea, Airtel may save crores if Centre takes haircut in spectrum payments: Report

Cash-stripped Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel may have to pay less than Rs 2,000 crore each if Centre withdraws legal cases against them

The government is considering withdrawing legal cases against Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, a move which will come as a relief to the beleaguered telecom companies as they might have to pay Rs 2,000 crore each or even less than that as a one-time spectrum charge (OTSC), according to The Economic Times.

This is only possible if the government decides not to appeal against an earlier telecom tribunal verdict.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked the Supreme Court for three weeks' time to enable "the central government to take an informed decision whether to proceed with the present appeal or not" and requested that the case be adjourned for a period of four weeks.

Also Read | DoT asks Vi, Airtel to pay Rs 3,050 crore in penalties in 3 weeks

“The DoT will now get down to recalculations and if the call is taken to withdraw the appeal, then Airtel and Vi may have to pay about Rs 2,000 crore each, or even less than that,” ET quoted an official.

The government on September 15 gave a breather to telecom operators by giving them more time to pay dues and interest on penalties in the form of equities.

In October 2016, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended imposing a total penalty of Rs 3,050 crore on Airtel, Vodafone and Idea (now merged) for allegedly denying interconnectivity to Reliance Jio.

The regulator had, at that time, stopped short of recommending the cancellation of their telecom licenses saying it may lead to significant consumer inconvenience.

Watch the latest DH Videos here: