Vodafone Idea defers payment of AGR dues of Rs 8,837 crore, considers converting interest into equity

Debt-ridden telecom company Vodafone Idea (Vodafone Idea) has decided to defer payment of additional adjusted gross revenue of Rs 8,837 crore. This payment has been deferred for four years. The company said in a late night information on June 22 that the Department of Telecommunications on June 15 announced the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for the additional two financial years after the financial year 2016-17.AGR) is demanded. This demand was not covered under the order of the Supreme Court on statutory dues. Vodafone Idea (VIL) said that its board of directors has approved the option of deferring the AGR dues for a period of four years with immediate effect, as per the said letter of the Department of Telecom. The government calculates its share of revenue from telecom operators on the basis of their AGR.

Option to convert interest into equity

VIL said that in the said letter of the department, the company has also been given an option to convert the interest on the outstanding amount related to these AGRs into equity, for which 90 days time has been given from the date of the letter. The company has opted to convert the interest on the outstanding amount into equity. VIL said the fresh demand of Rs 8,837 crore could be revised and the final amount would have to be paid in six equal annual installments after March 31, 2026. The government has already approved the proposal to convert the interest of Rs 16,000 crore paid by Vodafone Idea into equity.

Dues of Rs 1.65 lakh crore on telecom operators

According to official data, telecom companies owe more than Rs 1.65 lakh crore to the government in the form of adjusted gross revenue till the financial year 2018-19. The latest calculation shows that as of the financial year 2018-19, Bharti Airtel owes Rs 31,280 crore, Vodafone Idea Rs 59,236.63 crore, Reliance Jio Rs 631 crore, BSNL Rs 16,224 crore and MTNL Rs 5,009.1 crore as AGR for the financial year 2018-19. was. Vodafone Idea said in a separate statement that its board has approved raising Rs 436.21 crore from Vodafone Group company Euro Pacific Securities by issuing preference shares or warrants at par at Rs 10.2 per unit price.