The Supreme Court on Friday postponed the hearing of Vodafone Idea Ltd.’s petition against an additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demand of ₹9,450 crore raised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The deferment came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, sought more time to explore a consumer-friendly resolution, noting that the Centre now holds a substantial stake in the telecom operator. The matter will next be heard on September 26.
The case stems from the Court’s March 2020 ruling, which finalized Vodafone Idea’s AGR liabilities up to FY17 on the basis of DoT’s calculations and disallowed any fresh assessments. Despite this, DoT has issued fresh notices covering FY18 and FY19, as well as revising earlier dues.
Vodafone Idea, in its petition filed on September 8, argued that nearly ₹5,600 crore of the revised demand pertains to the period already settled by the 2020 judgment and therefore cannot be reopened. Of the total additional claim, ₹2,774 crore has been directed at Vodafone Idea post its merger with Idea Cellular in 2018, while around ₹6,675 crore relates to Vodafone’s pre-merger liabilities.
The company warned that the additional burden could jeopardize its survival, threatening the jobs of over 18,000 employees and affecting services for nearly 198 million subscribers. It further claimed that DoT’s revised calculations of licence fees and spectrum usage charges were flawed and sought a comprehensive reconciliation of all dues up to FY17.
DoT, however, maintains that certain outstanding licence fee amounts for FY18 and FY19 were not captured in the Supreme Court’s September 2020 order and has recalculated dues with interest up to March 2025.
Vodafone Idea already faces annual AGR-related payments of about ₹18,000 crore for the next six years against an operational cash flow of less than half that amount. The government, which converted over ₹53,000 crore of AGR dues into equity across 2023 and 2025, now owns around 50% of the operator.
Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel has also requested a conversion of its AGR dues into equity but has not joined Vodafone Idea in its latest legal move.
At mid-morning trade on Friday, Vodafone Idea shares rose nearly 7% to ₹8.39 on the NSE, even as the Nifty 50 index fell about 0.5% to 25,299.
