DoT moves SC to offer telecom firms 20-year window for payment of AGR dues

COAI, representing the telecom industry, has called it a "comprehensive petition"

Within days of the Union Cabinet taking up a relief proposal for the battered telecom industry, the government has submitted a plea to the Supreme Court seeking significant concessions for telcos, changing the contours of the long-winding dispute over what constitutes adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and the associated liabilities of the operators. The move by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), seeking a 20-year staggered payment of the operators’ dues linked to AGR along with a waiver of interest and penalty, has brought cheer to the sector, especially Vodafone Idea which has been on the brink of a collapse, executives and