Vodafone Idea filed a review petition in the Supreme Court, wanting to rectify errors in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) calculation.
This comes in the aftermath of the Supreme Court's July 23rd dismissal of applications filed by major telcos such as Vodafone Idea and Airtel for a chance to place their grievances regarding major mathematical errors in their AGR dues before the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Supreme Court said that what the major telecom players really wanted, under the guise of mathematical errors, was a recomputation of dues- a path which was previously forbidden by the Supreme Court in July 20, 2020.
AGR is the licensing fee that telecom operators are charged by the DoT. Payment of which has been a point of dispute for the telecom operators since 2003. As of now telcos owe around ₹1.4 lakh cores worth of dues which they have to pay to the government in instalments. A major financial strain on the cash strapped sector. Vodafone Idea's ₹58,000 crores of AGR dues is at the centre of its financial woes.
DoT has already given a two year moratorium on the annual payments for FY22. But, Vodafone Idea has repeatedly warned about their inability to pay these dues, stating that the company will face financial insolvency if government does not help. Former Chairman of Vodafone Idea Kumar Mangalam Birla also reiterated this position in his June 7 letter to cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba.
This review petition could be a last-ditch attempt by the company to save itself from insolvency.