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During their Tuesday meeting with Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, top executives reportedly from Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Bharti Airtel discussed issues that are bothering the telecom industry and organizations. In accordance with a LiveMint reoprt, people familiar with the incident noted that Vi is said to have brought up the subject of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) following the Supreme Court ruling, even though no conversation regarding the carrier's relief was held.
"Chaired a successful meeting with the Telecommunication Service Providers' Stakeholder Advisory Committee. Together, we discussed crucial topics such as increasing customer satisfaction, optimizing operations, and improving service quality, assuring connectivity, accessibility, and affordability for everybody," Scindia wrote in an update on social networking site X.
The attendees included the CEO of Vodafone Idea, Gopal Vittal, the managing director and chief executive of Bharti Airtel, Robert J. Ravi, the chairman and managing director of BSNL, and Akash Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Jio.
A few of the carriers also reportedly brought up the concern that the telecom regulator's suggested new license guidelines should not include messaging and calling apps like Telegram and WhatsApp.
Since OTTs offer calling and messaging services just like any other telecom operator, telcos have long pushed for the inclusion of these apps in the scope of telecom licenses. During the conference, the topic of service quality as well as the growing threat of bothersome calls and SMS messages were also discussed.
The report by LiveMint added that according to persons with knowledge of the negotiations, Vodafone Idea expressed its concern about the implications of the adjusted gross revenue issue on the industry's health, a concern that Bharti Airtel also shared. On Monday, Vi's chairman Ravinder Takkar announced that the carrier had started talking to the Union government about recalculating what it considers to be incorrectly labeled AGR dues
Talking to Livemint,Takkar stated, "We have been engaging with senior government officials with a clear view from every side that merits of the case, with reference to calculation errors and mistakes, and penalties and interest on the mistakes."
It is well understood in the government that we should not be forced to pay for a calculation error, so the Center has asked us to thoroughly examine what we think is the appropriate process and approach for addressing the matter," he continued.
At a news conference on Monday, Scindia backed up the assertion, stating that the telecom giant is still in talks with the communications ministry and that both sides want to learn more about the situation. The Vi's curative plea was denied by the Supreme Court this Monday because it did not fit the requirements.
Background
The Supreme Court last week denied telecom companies' request to recalculate their adjusted gross revenues, or AGRs. The businesses expressed worry about how the financial crisis will impact all businesses.
A corrective plea was filed by Vodafone India, Bharti Airtel, and other firms against the October 2019 ruling of the court, which ordered them to pay the government INR 92,000 crore within three months. The present petitions are directed against an order from September 2020 that stipulates that AGR dues must be paid over a ten-year period, with 10% of the amount due by 31st March of each year.