Bharti Airtel will pay the interest on deferred spectrum and Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) liabilities and will not issue equity to the government.
The company said in a stock exchange notification that it had informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that it will not avail the option of conversion of interest on deferred spectrum and AGR dues into equity.
The government in October announced a slew of measures to protect the financial health of telecom companies. This includes a four-year moratorium on their spectrum and AGR dues. Further, the companies also have an option to pay the interest amount arising due to the said deferment of payment by way of equity.
While Airtel and Vodafone Idea opted for the four-year moratorium, Reliance Jio decided against it.
Last month Airtel prepaid its entire liability of Rs 15,519 crore from its 2014 acquisition of 128.4 MHz spectrum. The company had at the time said this would help in saving around Rs 3,400 crore in interest expenses.
While the dues for the 2014 auction have been settled, Airtel has an additional Rs 74,500 crore payments due for spectrum acquired through various auctions between 2012 and 2021. For spectrum acquired in 2021, the payments need to be completed by 2038-39.
As far as AGR dues are concerned, Airtel has already paid around Rs 18,400 crore. Its balance AGR dues are Rs 25,000 crore.
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