Days after the Supreme Court ordered telecom companies to pay as much as Rs 1.42 lakh crore in past statutory dues, the government is constituting a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) under the cabinet secretary to suggest measures to mitigate financial stress in the sector.
While the terms of reference of the panel do not explicitly mention the Supreme Court ruling of October 24, it has been asked to look at suggestions for deferring of payments for spectrum as well as re-look at the obligation to fund a universal service fund for operators.
The panel—which will comprise secretaries of ministries of finance, telecommunication and law, among others—is expected to meet shortly and submit recommendations in a time-bound manner, sources said.
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The development comes as Bharti Airtel deferred the release of its second-quarter earnings report till November 14 as it sought clarity and "support" from the government on Rs 42,000-crore statutory dues it owes to the exchequer following the Supreme Court judgment.
Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and other telecom operators may have to pay the government a whopping Rs 1.42 lakh crore following the Supreme Court order last week that sent shock waves through an industry already grappling with billions of dollars in debt and an intense tariff war to retain customers.
The top court had upheld the government's position on including revenue from non-telecommunication businesses in calculating the annual adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of telecom companies, a share of which is paid as licence and spectrum fee to the exchequer.
According to the DoT's calculations, Bharti Airtel faces a liability of around Rs 42,000 crore after including licence fees and spectrum usage charges, while Vodafone-Idea may have to pay about Rs 40,000 crore. Jio may have to pay around Rs 14 crore.
