Bharti Airtel has paid an additional amount of February 17 amounting to Rs. 8,004 crores to the department of telecom (DOT) towards Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues. The payment comes in compliance with the Supreme Court judgment in addition to Rs. 10,000 crores, the court said in a regulatory filing. Bharti Airtel has paid Rs. 10,000 crores to DoT on February 17, 2020, after the telecom department began issuing orders to telecom companies to clear their dues immediately or face necessary actions. Including the latest payment, the company has paid in a total of Rs. 18,004 crores in all.
According to the reports and DoT estimates, Bharti Airtel owned nearly Rs. 35,586 crores. This debt includes license fee, spectrum usage charges with interest on the unpaid amount, penalty and interest on penalty till July 2019. While the dues are being cleared, the company has carried out self-assessment to cross-check the numbers. It is from Financial Year 2006-07 up to December 31, 2019, and the interest is being calculated till February 29, 2020, in line with the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) judgment.
The payment included the liabilities on Bharti Airtel, Bharti Hexacom and Telenor India and according to the compliance of the Supreme Court, the company has paid an additional amount of Rs. 3,004 crores towards the full and final amounts due over and above the amount of Rs. 10,000 crores on February 17 on behalf of the Bharti Group of Companies.
Among other telecom firms, Vodafone Idea is starting at dues worth Rs. 53,000 crores while Tata teleservices owes somewhere around Rs. 13,800 crores, BSNL is at Rs. 4,989 crores, and MTNL at Rs. 3,122 crores.
