New Delhi, March 16 Vodafone Idea on Friday has said that it has cleared the principal amount towards AGR dues as it paid Rs 3,354 crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday.
The payment comes a day ahead of the Supreme Court's hearing on the issue of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).In a regulatory filing, the telecom operator had earlier paid a sum of Rs 2,500 crores on February 17, 2020 and a further sum of Rs 1,000 crores on February 20 towards the AGR liability.
"The company has today paid a further amount of Rs 3,354 crores to the DoT, being the balance part of the principal amount towards AGR liability. Thus the company has paid the full principal amount of Rs 6,854 crores towards the AGR dues," it said.
According to Vodafone Idea's own assessment, its AGR dues stand at Rs 21,533 crore and the principal amount out of the total dues is Rs 6,854 crore. However, according to the DoT's estimate, the company's overall dues stand at Rs 53,000 crore.
The other major player Bharti Airtel has already said that it has paid its full adjusted gross revenue dues of about Rs 13,000 crore.
After meeting Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash here on March 11, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said that the as the government has directed to pay the full amount, the company has paid the full amount.
He said that the full AGR dues is about Rs 13,000 crore, and Rs 5,000 crore is extra, adding that the company has also submitted its self-assessment document.
( With inputs from IANS )