Vodafone Idea files review petition before SC in AGR case to correct 'arithmetic errors'

A debt-laden Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Tuesday filed a review petition before the Supreme Court, challenging its July 23rd verdict, which rejected the company’s plea seeking adjustment of AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) dues to account for 'Arithmetic errors'. The company had filed the plea in June claiming that adjustments were needed on AGR dues to account for 'Arithmetic errors'.

Earlier, Vi had calculated its remaining AGR dues at around Rs 21,500 crore after completing payment of Rs 7,800 crore. However, the Department of Telecom (DoT) arrived at a different number and informed the court that around Rs 58,000 crore was due as AGR for the firm. The company claimed that the AGR figures were wrong and sought the top court for directions to correct the “arithmetic error” in the department’s calculations. Last year in September, the top court had allowed the telecommunication company to pay AGR dues in a staggered manner, however, it was denied, alleging errors in calculations made by DoT. 

Aditya Birla group Chairman offers to hand over his stake

Last week, Vodafone Idea shares saw a huge fall owing to the stepping down of Aditya Birla group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla from the non-executive chairman position of Vi. The billionaire businessman offered to give up his stake in the telecom company, causing further woes. In a letter, Birla, who holds around a 27 per cent stake in VIL, said that investors are not willing to invest any more in the company in the absence of clarity on AGR liability, an adequate moratorium on spectrum payments, and most importantly floor pricing regime above the cost of service. He claimed that without immediate active support from the government on the three issues, the financial situation of VIL will come to an "irretrievable point of collapse," Birla said in the letter dated June 7. Telecom industry veteran Himanshu Kapania will take over the chairman’s post.

SC's 2020 order on AGR dues

The Supreme Court, in July 2020, had reserved its order on a timeline for payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. While private players Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel agreed to a 15-year time to pay its dues, the Centre allowed a 20-year period. The court has ruled out recalculation of AGR dues and has ordered all documents of telecom insolvencies and pending AGR dues in 10 days, as per reports.

(IMAGE: ANI/ PTI)