SC ruling on AGR: Telcos will have to pay ₹1.3-lakh crore

Incumbent telecom operators, including Airtel and Vodafone Idea, will have to cough up nearly ₹1.3 lakh crore after the Supreme Court dismissed their plea seeking a review of what constituted adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

The biggest impact will be on Vodafone Idea, which will have to pay dues of around ₹40,000 crore while Airtel will have to pay ₹35,000 crore. There will be not be any significant impact on Reliance Jio.

It is not clear how the balance ₹65,000 crore will be recovered by the Department of Telecom as most other operators, including Aircel, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications, have shut shop.