Centre can reconsider all pending AGR dues of Vodafone Idea, says SC

New Delhi, Nov 3 (PTI) In a major relief to Vodafone Idea, the Supreme Court on Monday said that the Centre can reconsider and reconcile the telecom company's pending dues of all adjusted gross revenue and it will not be restricted to AGR dues for the financial year 2016-17.

On October 27, the bench had said that the "prayer in the petition itself restricts its claim only to the additional AGR demand raised by the respondent for the period up to the Financial Year 2016-17.” On Monday, a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was urged by the counsel for the telecom firm that it wanted a correction in the October 27 order.

“There's an error in Para 6 where the order said we only asked for relief against additional AGR dues. We had made a composite prayer against additional AGR and the reassessment of all AGR dues,” the lawyer said.

The top court clarified that the telecom firm had asked for relief on both additional Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues and on the reassessment of all similar dues.

Additional AGR dues of the telecom firm are to the tune of Rs 9,450 crores and total AGR demand is over Rs 83,500 crores as of March 2025.

The clarification of the earlier order now paves the way for the Centre to grant relief to the telecom firm against all AGR dues.

Earlier, the top court allowed the Centre to reconsider and reconcile the telecom company's pending adjusted gross revenue dues amounting to Rs 5,606 crore for 2016-17.

Adjusted gross revenue (AGR) is the income figure used to calculate the licence fees and spectrum charges that telecom companies must pay to the government.

The order was passed while hearing a writ petition filed by Vodafone Idea challenging fresh AGR-related demands raised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The telco had contended that the additional claims made by the DoT were unsustainable as the liabilities had already been crystallised by the apex court's 2019 judgment on AGR dues.

“The solicitor general on instructions states that taking into consideration the change in circumstances, i.e., the Centre acquiring 49 per cent equity and 20 crore customers utilising the service of the petitioner, the Union (government) is willing to examine the issues raised by the petitioner (company),” the bench said.

“Taking into consideration the status of the case now -- the government has infused substantial equity into the company and that it will have direct bearing on 20 crore customers -- we see no issue in the Union reconsidering the issue and taking appropriate steps,” the CJI said in the order.

Clarifying that the issue fell under the policy domain of the Union, the bench said, “There is no reason as to why the Union should be prevented from doing that, and with that view of the matter, we dispose of the writ petition.” The dispute over AGR, particularly its inclusion of non-telecom income, led to massive liabilities on the telecom operators, with Vodafone Idea and other telcos among the hardest hit.

Earlier this year, in a setback to telecom majors, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, the apex court refused to review its 2021 order rejecting their pleas for rectification of alleged errors in the calculation of AGR dues payable by them.

The telcos argued that arithmetical errors in the calculation should be rectified and that there were cases of duplication of entries. PTI SJK SJK RT RT