Vi files fresh petition in SC, seeks ₹30K crore waiver on AGR dues

Telco seeks waiver of over ₹30,000 crore of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues towards penalties and interest as Supreme Court hearing is expected on 19 May

Vodafone Idea (Vi) on Thursday filed a fresh plea before the Supreme Court seeking a waiver of over ₹30,000 crore of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, specifically relating to the penalty and interest on the penalty component of the AGR levy. The court is likely to hear the plea on 19 May.

 

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Vodafone, told the court that the survival of Vodafone Idea is crucial for maintaining competition in the telecom sector, and that the company is unable to bear the financial burden on its own, sources said. He urged for an urgent listing.

 

 

According to reports, the financially beleaguered telco told the court that the government is handicapped in granting it relief due to the constraints of the Supreme Court’s AGR judgment. However, the company did not clarify what kind of relief it is now seeking from the government. In March, the government had approved the conversion of the telco’s outstanding spectrum auction dues into equity shares worth ₹36,950 crore. Queries seeking an official response from Vi did not elicit a response. 

 

The latest move by Vi comes three months after it had indicated that all legal options had been exhausted in the case. Telcos have thus far filed a series of miscellaneous applications, review petitions and a curative petition in the AGR matter before the Supreme Court. After the final review petition was quashed by the apex court earlier in February, Vi had said that all AGR-related matters at the Supreme Court were closed.

 

A key metric in telecom finances, AGR is used to calculate the revenue that operators must share with the government in the form of spectrum usage charges and licence fees.

 

In a tough spot

 

The February judgment rejected a series of review petitions from telecom operators challenging the Court’s 2021 decision, which had upheld the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT’s) calculation of AGR dues and disallowed any rectification of alleged arithmetical errors. This was a reiteration of its earlier stance. In September last year, the apex court had also rejected a batch of curative petitions seeking review of the massive AGR dues payable by telcos, based on the Court’s 2019 judgment. That judgment had permitted the DoT to include all non-telecom revenue in the calculation of AGR.

 

Cash-strapped Vi had reported total deferred payment obligations of ₹2.02 trillion at the end of the third quarter (October–December) of FY25.

 

In the first three months of 2025, Vi lost 1.9 million subscribers. It is also facing major payments due to the government. As part of the telecom reforms package approved by the Cabinet in September 2021, the government had allowed financially stressed telcos to convert a part of their debt owed to the government into equity.

 

With the four-year payment moratorium ending in September 2025, Vi faces substantial payment obligations. Between then and March 2026, the company has to pay ₹12,000 crore to the government, including both principal and interest. Subsequently, it is required to pay ₹43,000 crore annually for five years, from FY27 to FY31.