AGR payment: Telcos to wait for SC decision

New Delhi: Vodafone Idea informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) it will wait for the Supreme Court’s decision on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) modification pleas, implying that it won’t make any payments to the government by the January 23 deadline. Bharti Airtel is expected to follow suit. Both have filed modifications petitions in the Supreme Court, which will hear the matter next week.

“We have received a communication from Vodafone Idea which says the company is waiting for the Supreme Court decision on its plea (for) allowing it to negotiate with the DoT terms and timeline for payment of AGR dues before it takes any further steps on the matter,” a senior government official told ET. “It is true that the apex court has agreed to hear the modification pleas of telcos and it hasn’t categorically stated that the telcos need to deposit AGR dues or that they do not need to — it is technically a grey area.”