Govt asks Airtel, Voda Idea, others to pay balance AGR dues without delay

The telecom department wrote to all the telcos asking them to pay balance dues "without delay" and also submit detailed bifurcation of payments

The government on Wednesday asked Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies to pay remaining AGR dues as per the Supreme Court order without further delay, according to sources.

The telecom department wrote to all telcos asking them to pay balance dues "without delay" and submit detailed bifurcation of payments (explanation of self-assessed amounts), which it said are necessary for proper reconciliation of legitimate AGR dues.

The government has so far received about Rs 26,000 crore from AGR payments, including adhoc/ buffer amounts given by telcos to meet any reconciliation differences with the telecom department.

However, the amounts paid by telcos is