COAI ignores member Jio’s protest, seeks waiver of all past statutory dues for Airtel, Voda-Idea

Ignoring its member Reliance Jio’s contentions, telecom industry association COAI has shot off an “addendum” to its earlier demands and has now sought a complete waiver of statutory dues that its other members such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea owe to the government following the Supreme Court ruling.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) director-general Rajan S Mathews on October 31 shot of a second letter in as many as days to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad seeking waiver of the “entire” amount of Rs 1.42 lakh crore due to its principal members Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd and other telecom operators “given the poor financial state of the sector.”