Centre to gain over Rs 92,000 crore from pending telecom licence fees

Bharti Airtel owes Rs 21,682.13 crore, Vodafone Idea owes Rs 19,823.71 crore while Reliance Communications owes a total of Rs 16,456.47 crore, according to DoT.

The government is set to gain over Rs 92,000 crore from pending license fees owed by telecom companies after the Supreme Court Thursday ruled in favour of the Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) plea to recover adjusted gross revenue.

Bharti Airtel owes Rs 21,682.13 crore, Vodafone Idea owes Rs 19,823.71 crore while Reliance Communications owes a total of Rs 16,456.47 crore, according to the DoT.

A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said it will pass separate order fixing time within which the telecom companies will have to pay the dues. All penalties, interests have to be paid by telecom companies, the bench said.

With the telecom sector reeling under high debt and loses, the apex court order is expected to put further strain on the companies.