The Centre and telcos on Monday assured the Supreme Court that they would not conduct any re-assessment or re-calculation of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues.
A Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra said it would not tolerate “even for a second” any attempt to re-assess the AGR dues which now stands at ₹1.6 lakh crore. The Bench, however, reserved its verdict on the timeline for the staggered payments.
The Bench observed that 15 or 20 years was not a reasonable time period and the telcos must come forward with an appropriate time frame. The Centre had earlier urged the court that up to 20 years be given to the firms for the payments.
The telcos said they were in no position to give fresh bank guarantees for the payments. The October 2019 judgment originally wanted the telcos to make the repayment in three months. But the Centre intervened, saying it would dent the finances of the sector.
In the last hearing, the court had sought financial details of the firms to see whether they could provide any bank guarantee for ensuring the repayment of AGR dues without fail over the next 20 years.
