BSNL to slap Rs 200 cr bill on Reliance

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is likely to send a detailed bill of around Rs 200 crore to Reliance Infocomm for allegedly routing international long distance (ILD) calls as local calls resulting in a revenue loss to the state-owned operator.

The bill, which is expected to be dispatched shortly, will give Reliance Infocomm a week to clear the dues. BSNL proposes to disconnect the points of interconnections (PoIs) in case Reliance does not meet the deadline, a senior BSNL executive told Business Standard.

"Our circles have finalised their due amounts. We will send the bills to Reliance today or tomorrow," an executive said. BSNL's total dues on Reliance had been pegged at Rs 120 crore initially.

BSNL telecom circles, in which illegal routing of calls were reported, will send their due statements to Reliance directly. Earlier, the company planned to send a consolidated bill from the corporate office.

On October 14, Reliance Infocomm had made an interim payment of over Rs 60 crore, including Rs 58 crore payment through demand drafts at the BSNL headquarters to get the point of interconnections(POIs) restored. The state-owned operator had resorted to disconnection at certain locations in Kolkata, Pune, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. But the points were restored after Reliance made the payment.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd had also alleged such misrouting of calls by Reliance in Delhi and Mumbai. MTNL officials had said that they were reviewing the situation.