SC Orders 8 Telecom Industries To Clear Dues of Rs. 92K Cr

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday allowed the Centre's plea to recover adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of about Rs 92,000 crore from telecom service providers. A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra, upholds the definition of adjusted gross revenue formulated by the Department of Telecom (DoT).

The apex court today said while reading the operative portion of the judgment that they have held that definition of AGR will prevail. The bench, also comprising Justices Vineet Saran and S Ravindra Bhat, said that they have allowed the appeal of the Department of Telecom and dismissed that of licensees (telcos).

The top court said that it had rejected all othersubmissions of the telecom companies. It added that the service providers wouldhave to pay penalties and interests to the DoT. The bench made it clear thatthere would no further litigation on the issue and it would fix a time framefor calculation and payment of dues by the telecom companies.