Reliance Jio on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it is not liable for Reliance Communications' (Rcom) adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. Jio has said that AGR dues arise out of revenue from customers and sharing spectrum does not make the telco liable for the contested statutory dues.
According to various media reports, the affidavit filed in the apex court ahead of Monday's AGR hearing, clarifies that the telecom government did not demand any AGR dues from the Mukesh Ambani-led telco, for its spectrum sharing and trading agreements with Rcom. Reliance Jio has paid its AGR dues of Rs 198 crore, while the total AGR dues of Reliance Communications stood at Rs 25,194.58 crore.
The Jio affidavit comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court last week seeking details of spectrum sharing pact between Reliance Communications (RCom) and Reliance Jio. The court had asked as to why the company using the spectrum of the other firm cannot be asked to pay the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) related dues to the government. Spectrum is a government property, not private, and anyone using it is liable to pay the dues, the apex court said.
During the hearing, senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for resolution professional for RCom, said that the government has been informed about the spectrum sharing agreement which was done in 2016 and the required fees have been paid.
He said that a part of the spectrum was lying idle with the company for a while and it has not traded, but has only shared it.
The bench said again as to how Reliance Jio can escape the liability when it is using the spectrum and sharing the revenue.
