Vi challenges DoT’s extra AGR demand

Vi faces an total debt of ₹1.7 lakh crore
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REUTERS

Vodafone Concept has filed a recent petition with the Supreme Court docket to rethink extra Adjusted Gross Income (AGR) calls for issued by the Division of Telecom calling the identical as “faulty and riddled with clerical and arithmetical errors.”

In a writ petition, the non-public telco requested the courtroom to quash the extra AGR calls for issued by the Division of Telecommunications (DoT) and re-assess dues following the “Deduction Verification Pointers.” Businessline reached out for a remark from Vi nonetheless the corporate declined to remark.

Based on Mahwash Fatima, a public coverage supervisor at The Quantum Hub consulting agency, the present writ petition challenges a recent demand by DoT which matches past the apex courtroom’s earlier judgement. Nonetheless, the chance of this plea being entertained by the courtroom is negligible, mentioned Fatima, because the courtroom had earlier mentioned it is not going to become involved within the matter any additional.

crystalized AFR dues 

Whereas furnishing the dues for every telecom service supplier in its earlier affidavit, the DoT had mentioned, “All dues are topic to additional revisions as a consequence of departmental assessments, CAG Audits, Particular Audits, Court docket circumstances, and so forth.” Nonetheless, the highest courtroom had “crystalized” the AFR dues for Vi as ₹58,254 crores for the interval as much as 2016-17.

“This Court docket had delivered an in depth Judgment on the computation of AGR and had crystalized all liabilities on the Peitioner uptil 2016-17. This courtroom prohibited any re-assessment of the AGR dues as crystallized. By this Order, the AGR legal responsibility of the Petitioner was crystallized at ₹58,254 Crores uptil FY 2016-17,” mentioned Vi in its petition. Accordingly, it requested the courtroom that the DoT not change the demand or make a good settlement and evaluation your entire dues.

The corporate mentioned it was relying upon the 2020 pointers for searching for correction of the AGR calls for. Nonetheless, the federal government made the Pointers relevant from FY 2019-20 onwards, prohibiting any reconciliation of calls for for FYs 2017-18 and 2018-19 additionally.

“The [government] abruptly and arbitrarily “clarified” that the Pointers/Clarifications in the direction of deduction verification FY 2019-20 onwards, whereas it ought to have been made relevant from FY 2017- 18 onwards,” mentioned Vi in its plea.

Vi mentioned that the courtroom can not unilaterally increase extra AGR calls for uptil FY/ 2016-17, with out first correcting the errors within the calls for already raised.

Vi faces an total debt of ₹1.7 lakh crore. Below a deferred fee scheme, Vi has to pay annual AGR funds of ₹18,000 crore beginning FY26, which is almost twice its present operational money era of ₹9,200 crore. The federal government earlier elevated its share upto 49 per cent after the corporate transformed debt price ₹36,950 crore to fairness. Later, Vi checked out non-banking sources of funding, as its earlier plans to boost ₹25,000 crore from banks hit roadblocks.

Printed on September 9, 2025