Govt to take legal view on SC's Vi order

The Centre will take a legal view on the Supreme Court’s order on Vodafone Idea Ltd's additional gross revenue (AGR) dues before giving any relief to the beleaguered telco, a senior government official said.

- Jatin Grover

The apex court’s written order on Wednesday, while clarifying that the dues apply solely to Vodafone Idea, observed that the petition filed by the company restricts its claim only to the additional gross revenue demand raised by the department of telecommunications for the period up to 2016-17.

This assumes significance given that Vodafone Idea may not receive enough financial benefit if the relief is restricted to the additional gross revenue demand, which is around ₹5,600 crore.

Brokerage firm Emkay Global said in a note dated 27 October that it sees a low chance of the government reversing the current outstanding ₹37,100 crore additional gross revenue dues of Bharti Airtel Ltd.