Govt asks Airtel, Vodafone Idea, others to pay balance AGR dues without delay

A hotel employee clears a table after Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular news conference in Mumbai, India March 20, 2017. (Reuters Photo)

The government on Wednesday asked Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies to pay remaining AGR dues as per the Supreme Court order, according to sources.

The telecom department wrote to all the telcos asking them to pay balance dues "without delay" and also submit detailed bifurcation of payments (explanation of self assessed amounts), which are necessary for proper reconciliation of legitimate dues.

The government has so far received about Rs 26,000 crore from AGR payments, including adhoc/ buffer amounts given by telcos to meet any reconciliation differences.

However, the amounts paid by telcos is woefully lower than the DoT's Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) calculation.