Bharti Airtel moves Supreme Court with Review Petition in AGR case

After its AGR reassessment plea was dumped by SC, Bharti Airtel has moves SC with a review petition against the same.

Bharti Airtel Moves SC for AGR Dues

A person aware of the developments has said that the telco has filed the petition on Thursday. This petition has come within a few days after Vodafone Idea became the first telco from the case to move SC. Now, the only telco left from the initial group is Tata Teleservices, that might also seek to move SC in the coming days. It has AGR dues of Rs 16,798 crore, of which it has paid Rs 4,197 crore.

The turning point in the AGR case came in 2019 when the SC redefined AGR to include non-telecom revenues as well. This move left Airtel and Vi with obligations in excess of Rs 80,000 combined.

This January, Airtel, Vi and Tata Tele moves SC seeking a clarification or reassessment of the AGR dues. Notably, the DoT had demanded Rs 43,980 crore as AGR dues from the telco. However, the telco estimates that it only owes Rs 13,004 crore, but has been forced to pay Rs 18,000 crore. The telcos had cited multiple discrepancies, including duplication in revenue addition, incorrect interest rate for calculating SUC, unaccounted payments, among others. However, the apex court ended up rejecting the plea on 23rd July.

If the SC rejects the review petition, the telco, most likely, will go for a curative petition; Vodafone Idea has already said that it will explore that option.

Much to Airtel's relief, however, the telco posted a net profit of Rs 284 crore in the Q1FY22; AGR dues have not really impacted it as badly as Vi.