How the SC demolished telecom operators plea on AGR

The Supreme Court has rejected claims made by the telecom operators on the issue of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) on grounds that the operators had agreed to pay revenue share on all income, as part of a migration package in 1999.

“When Government has parted with the privilege as to revenue on sharing basis under the license, and an agreement entered into, it ought to have been precisely followed. The conduct of the licensees was highly unfair, and anyhow and somehow, they had attempted to delay the payment. It passes comprehension how they have contended that the demand has to be worked out after this Court renders the decision,”the apex court said.

The court , in its ruling today, said that the 1999 migration agreement had led to huge benefits for the industry and the operators cannot go back on it citing that there was no clarity in the definition of AGR.