The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has flagged a massive revenue loss of over Rs 1,757 crore to the government due to state-run telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) failing to bill Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) for infrastructure sharing over a decade.
According to the CAG report released on Tuesday, BSNL did not enforce the terms of the Master Service Agreement (MSA) signed with Reliance Jio in May 2014, resulting in a significant financial setback. The report highlights that BSNL failed to bill RJIL for the use of additional technologies deployed on BSNL’s passive infrastructure, spanning from May 2014 to March 2024.
“BSNL failed to enforce the MSA with RJIL and did not raise invoices for the use of additional technology on its shared infrastructure, causing a loss of Rs 1,757.76 crore to the government exchequer, including penal interest,” the CAG stated.
In addition to this, the audit report uncovered that BSNL sustained further losses due to under-recovery from Telecom Infrastructure Providers (TIPs). A revenue loss of Rs 38.36 crore was incurred as BSNL did not deduct the appropriate licence fee share from payments made to TIPs, as required under revenue-sharing arrangements.
The CAG also pointed to discrepancies in the billing of infrastructure sharing charges. “Non-compliance with the provisions of the MSA and failure to apply the escalation clause led to a short billing of Rs 29 crore (including GST),” the statement added.
The findings underscore the need for stricter oversight and enforcement of contractual terms in public sector undertakings to safeguard government revenue.
