The 10-year timeline for payment of AGR dues will begin from April 1, 2021, and the payments will have to be made in installments till March 31, 2031, the court said.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed telecom companies to clear their adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues, amounting to about ₹ 1.6 lakh crore, in a staggered manner spread over 10 years.
Led by Justice Arun Mishra, a three-judge bench of the apex court directed the telecom companies to pay 10 per cent of the dues by March 31, 2021. The top court also rejected a 20-year payment timeline proposed by the centre and supported by telecom companies.
The 10-year timeline for payment of AGR dues will begin from April 1, 2021, and the payments will have to be made in installments till March 31, 2031, the court said.
The telecom companies will have to clear their dues by February 7 each year and non-payment of dues will incur penalty, interest, and contempt of court, the bench headed by Justice Mishra added.
The managing directors or chief executive officers of the concerned telecom companies have also been asked by the SC to give personal guarantees on the payments within four weeks.
Tata telecom, in an earlier hearing, had asked for a window of at least 7-10 years for payment of dues, whereas Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel had each suggested payment over 15 years. However, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had stuck to the Cabinet’s proposal of payment within 20 years.
The top court also added that the issue of sale of the spectrum by telecom companies facing insolvency proceedings will be decided by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
In December, Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had warned in December that the company was headed towards insolvency.
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