FinMin against deferring penalty payment by telecom cos: Report

The finance ministry has objected to waiving or differing a part of interest and penalty owed by telecom players under their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, The Times of India reported.

Any concession on payment of the penalty would “set a wrong precedent and lead to similar demands” from other sectors, a source told the paper.

Telecom players have to clear AGR-related dues worth Rs 1.47 lakh crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) by March 17. Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices owe the maximum amounts to the telecom regulator.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

At a finance ministry meeting on February 23, there was consensus that “all efforts need to be taken to save the existing companies,” the report stated.

The telecom industry should not be a monopoly or even a duopoly, a government official told the publication.

There was also a recommendation to provide soft loans to telecom companies, but the authorities were split of the modes of issuing the financial assistance.

“However, it was mentioned that any such credit window should not be given through the telecom department, since it is also the receiver of the dues. Thus, it was proposed that public sector banks or other financial institutions or instruments can be used to provide emergency credit,” a source told the paper.