The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed Airtel and Vodafone-Idea a period of 10 years to make staggered payment of the pending AGR dues.
It is a big relief to telecom companies as the apex court said the telecom companies have to pay only 10 per cent of total pending dues upfront and can’t default on the annual payments.
The Supreme Court said Airtel, Vodafone Idea and others must pay the 10 percent pending dues by March 31, 2021.
Telcos Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel had sought 15 years for the pending AGR payment.
As of now, out of 15 affected telcos, five had paid just a fraction – about Rs 30,254 crore – of the AGR dues of the total demand of Rs 1.69 lakh crore.
The court said if telcos default on the annual AGR installment, interest would accrue and it may also invite contempt of court.
The court also fixed February 7 as the date for annual installment.
The Supreme Court pronounced the final verdict on the 14-year-old AGR case..
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel rallied 5.5 percent to Rs 542.40 and Reliance Communications gained 3.32 percent at Rs 2.49, whereas Vodafone Idea plunged 14.92 percent to Rs 8.67 on the BSE.