Telecom stocks tumble on buzz DoT orders to clear AGR dues

Telecom stocks fell after the media reported that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a notice to telecom operators to pay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues within three months as directed by the Supreme Court.

"It is the responsibility of licencees to pay licence fees and other dues after carrying out their own assessment as prescribed in the licence agreement. You are therefore directed to make the payment in accordance with the order of Supreme Court (SC) and submit requisite documents to ensure compliance within stipulated timeframe," the DoT reportedly said in a letter to telecom operators.

According to media reports, Bharti Airtel will have to pay Rs 21,682 crore and Vodafone Idea will have to pay Rs 28,308 crore. For Jio, the amount is just Rs 13 crore as it entered the sector only three years ago.

Vodafone Idea slumped 16.76% to Rs 3.08.

Grasim Industries was down 1.36% to Rs 729. Grasim Industries has exposure to the telecom sector via its 11.55% stake in Vodafone Idea.

Bharti Airtel fell 3.12% to Rs 357.

Reliance Industries, which controls Reliance Jio Infocomm, was trading 0.30% higher at Rs 1476.40.

SC on 24 October 2019 ruled in favor of the government on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) issue, with grave revenue implications to the tune of over Rs 92,000 crore for the ailing telecom sector.

AGR is the basis on which DoT calculates levies payable by operators. Telecom operators are liable to pay around 3-5% and 8% of the AGR as spectrum usage charges and licence fees, respectively, to DoT.

Telcos argued that AGR should comprise revenue from telecom services, but DoT insisting that AGR should include all revenue earned by an operator, including that from non-core telecom operations.

The apex court upheld the definition of AGR provided by DoT, putting an end to a 14-year old legal battle between telecom operators and the government.

SC docket in its final month's ruling reportedly stated, We give three months' time to deposit the quantity, which is due and compliance be reported.

After the said Supreme Court verdict, the government had reportedly constituted a committee of secretaries to discover a monetary bailout bundle for the telecom sector by reducing spectrum prices in addition to ending the period of free cell phone calls and grime low-cost knowledge as corporations looked at the government for avoiding fee of hundreds of crores of rupees in overdue statutory levies.

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