Supreme Court orders telecom companies to file affidavits on the timeline for payment of AGR dues

In the latest development in AGR-related dues case, the apex court on Thursday ordered the telecom companies to file affidavits on the mechanism via which they will pay AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) dues to the government.

The Supreme Court also asked the government for a specific time frame to ensure that the telecom companies pay their dues on time.  Hearing the case, the bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra directed the firms to submit details with regard to their revenue earned and their plans of clearing the AGR dues.

This development came after the March hearing when the top court pulled up the DoT for allowing firms to self-assess payable dues. It is worth noting that in October 2019, the apex court had upheld the definition of AGR given by the Department of Telecommunications and directed telcos to pay levies based on that very definition, along with interest on the principal amount and penalty.

The court held that the 2019 AGR judgment was unfairly interpreted to raise demands from the Public Sector Undertakings and some state-owned units. “Let the authority explain how our judgment has been misused. A demand of (Rs) 4 lakh crore is being raised against PSUs,” the bench said. Insolvency proceedings on the telecom firms could have a negative effect on this sector, as per DoT’s submissions.

The Department had suggested that operators ought to be allowed to stagger their payments. As of October, the total dues of the telecom companies stood at ₹1.69 trillion, DoT said in an affidavit.