Supreme Court defers till October 13 hearing on plea of Vodafone Idea for quashing additional AGR demand

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to October 13 the hearing on a plea of telecom major Vodafone Idea Ltd seeking quashing of the additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period until 2016-17.

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 to next Monday.

The submission was supported by senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL).

They urged the bench that the plea be heard before Diwali vacation. The CJI allowed the submissions.

Earlier, the top court, on September 26, had deferred the hearing to October 6.

The VIL has filed a fresh plea against the Department of Telecommunication's (DoT) fresh demand of Rs 5,606 crore relating to the financial year 2016–17.

Earlier, the Centre had said that efforts were underway to arrive at a resolution with the company.

The law officer 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.

The 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 had refused to review its 2021 order rejecting their pleas for rectification of alleged errors in calculation of AGR dues payable by them.

The apex court had dismissed their pleas seeking review of the 2021 order.

On July 23, 2021, the apex court dismissed their applications seeking rectification of the alleged errors in calculation of AGR dues.

The telecom companies had argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation be rectified and there were cases of duplication of entries.

The top court in September 2020 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.

In its September 2020 order, the apex court said telecom operators should make the payment of 10 per cent of the total dues as demanded by the DoT by March 31, 2021 and the rest amount would be paid in yearly instalments commencing 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 in October 2019 delivered its verdict on the AGR issue.

The DoT moved a plea in the top court asking for a staggered payment of the dues by telcos over 20 years.

Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) is the income figure used to calculate the license fees and spectrum charges that telecom companies must pay to the government.

Earlier, AGR included both telecom revenue and non-telecom income (like interest from deposits or asset sales).

In 2021, the rules were relaxed so that non-telecom income is no longer part of AGR, reducing the financial load on operators.