Airtel Deposits Rs 10,000 Crore To Partially Clear AGR Dues; Vodafone, Tata Expected To Follow Suit

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Monday (17 February) paid Rs 10,000 crore to the Department of Telecom (DoT) as part of its pending adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, Livemint has reported.

Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices are also expected to make payment for their AGR dues.

Though the overall dues to be received by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) from the three companies sum up to Rs 1.47 lakh crore, it is expected that for the time being, the telecom companies will only be making a partial payment of their dues.

It should be noted that Bharti Airtel had offered to pay Rs 10,000 crore by 20 February, while promising to pay the rest of its dues by 17 March when the Supreme Court will again hold a hearing in the matter. However, the DoT is unlikely to grant any extension of time for the payment of dues.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Idea is in the midst of calculating the amount that it needs to pay as AGR dues. This comes despite the company having publicly stated that the payment of AGR dues could lead to closure of its business in India.