Show-cause notice to VIL over not paying licence fee in 7 circles for Q4

The telecom department has issued a show-cause notice to Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) over non-payment of licence fee for the fourth quarter of FY2020-21, with regard to some circles, sources said.

The show-cause notice dated April 7, 2021 states that the company has not paid Q4 FY21 licence fee (by March 25) for circles of Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh (East), Orissa, as well as national long distance.

An e-mail sent to Vodafone Idea on the issue remained unanswered. But sources close to the company said that payments had made towards licence fee and spectrum usage charges for the quarter ending March 2021, last month, and that payment gaps if any, will be completed within the defined timeline.