Licence and spectrum fees: SC rejects telecoms' curative pleas

The Supreme Court declined to hear curative petitions filed by Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies seeking relief in the apex court’s 2019 ruling that added their non-telecom revenue to the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for calculating licence fees and spectrum usage charges payable to the government.

“Application for listing the curative petitions in open court is rejected,” a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said in its order dated August 30, which was issued on Thursday. “The curative petitions are dismissed in terms of the signed order. Pending application, if any, stands disposed of.”

A huge burden on VI, Airtel

The order is a blow for Vodafone Idea and Airtel, which had hoped to reduce their burden of ₹1.47 trillion in AGR dues to the government. Lower payments could have helped loss-making Vodafone Idea reduce its debt burden, but with the rejection of its curative petition, its financial troubles may continue to mount.

Brokerages expected a reduction of ₹35,000 crore in the AGR dues in the event of a positive outcome from the curative petitions.

The pleas sought corrections of clerical and arithmetic errors in AGR calculations by the Telecom Department. The telcos also wanted the penalty to be limited to 50% of the pending dues instead of the full amount and the interest rate on the penalty to be lowered. The companies claimed the Telecom Department had imposed ‘arbitrary’ penalty amounts that should be lowered.

For Bharti Airtel, a court relief would have strengthened it financially and enabled it to improve the return on capital employed and returns to shareholders. The Supreme Court order will negatively impact Vodafone Idea’s ability to pay existing dues and increase pressure on cash flows.

The Aditya Birla Group-backed Vodafone Idea raised ₹18,000 crore from the country’s largest follow-on public offer in April and is in discussions with banks to raise debt and bank guarantees totaling ₹35,000 crore. The No. 3 telco has a five-year ₹55,000 crore capex plan to rebuild its services and become competitive.

Impact on Indus Towers

The court’s decision will also adversely impact Indus Towers. Vodafone Idea is one of its largest tenants and owes it ₹7,000- ₹10,000 crore.

As per the 2019 order of the SC, against which the curative petitions were filed, Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel were supposed to have paid ₹1.47 trillion in AGR dues to the government. The government was to get ₹92,461 crore as licence fees, which is 5% of AGR, and ₹55,000 crore in spectrum usage charges, which were at 3% of AGR.

The 2019 order was a body blow to the telcos and severely affected their balance sheets and profitability. Vodafone Idea had raised concerns about the dues against the backdrop of its financial crisis, stating that the AGR demand exceeded the principal amount.

Part payments

The court subsequently allowed the telcos to pay up the AGR dues over 10 years, in response to a plea in September 2020. In 2021, the court dismissed a plea seeking corrections in the demands raised by the Telecom Department on the grounds of computation errors.

The telcos subsequently paid up about ₹12,500 crore, or 10% of the dues, upfront to the government that year. The telecoms have been paying the annual obligations to the government as per the 2020 ruling, and the curative petitions could have lowered the total amount and subsequent annual instalments.

The Telecom Department estimated Airtel’s AGR dues at ₹43,980 crore as opposed to the company’s estimate of ₹13,004 crore. For Vodafone Idea, the DoT’s demand was ₹58,254 crore versus ₹21,533 assessed by the company.

Tata Teleservices, also a party to the case, faced a demand of ₹16,798 crore compared with its estimate of ₹2,197 crore.

(By arrangement with livemint.com)