BSNL seeks Rs 1,522 crore fee refund

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has asked the government to refund Rs 1,522 crore, which it had paid in the form of licence fee and spectrum charges between 2000-03, in keeping with the Union Cabinet's decision.

The company has sent a letter to the department of telecommunications saying the refund will not affect the "ways and means" position of the government since it will be made out of the payments made by BSNL to it.

The largest telecom player in the country said: "As per the Union Cabinet's decision, the licence fee and spectrum charges received from BSNL will not be utilised by the government for additional revenue generation. This will be reimbursed to BSNL for meeting the additional burden of rural telephony as also the costs arising out of the transitional phase of corporatisation."

BSNL's demand for reimbursement of licence fee and spectrum charges for the two-and-a-half year period after it was corporatised is in addition to its long-standing request for a relief package of Rs 18,500 crore by extending the period of reimbursement by another five years.

Following its corporatisation in 2000, BSNL was supposed to be reimbursed the fees it paid to the government up to March 2003.

However, against a payment of Rs 6,122 crore made by it to the Centre during this period, BSNL has received a refund of only Rs 4,600 crore.

It is now demanding the balance Rs 1,522 crore. Of this, Rs 744 crore was paid towards licence fee arrears in 2001-02, Rs 578 crore for spectrum charges in 2001-03 and Rs 200 crore was the unreimbursed licence fee for 2002-03.

A note, which has been put up for a quarterly performance review meeting of the telecommunication sector by the Planning Commission, says the amount reimbursed to meet the expenditure on account of rural telephony is much less than the actual expenditure of Rs 4,300 crore.

"Therefore, the estimated licence fee refund is quite insignificant compared to the expenditure incurred on this account," BSNL has said.