Bharti Airtel filed a review petition with the Supreme Court on Thursday, contesting an earlier ruling of the court that barred the correction of “arithmetical errors” in the calculation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.”Airtel filed their review petition in SC on Thursday,” according to The Economic Times, citing a source familiar with the situation. Airtel filed its petition just days after competitor Vodafone Idea (VI) petitioned the Supreme Court to investigate the Department of Telecommunications’ miscalculations (DoT).
The fact that the inaccuracies were not allowed to be fixed is a “travesty of justice” and “inconceivable,” according to Vodafone Idea. The SC had previously expanded the scope of AGR to encompass non-telecom items earlier this year. Airtel and VI were saddled with hefty AGR dues as a result of this. According to the newspaper, the issue was brought up again in January when Airtel sought the Supreme Court, requesting a change to the “mistaken orders” that had permitted the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to demand Rs 43,980 crore in total AGR dues.
Bharti Airtel owes the Department of Transportation Rs 13,004 crore and has already paid it Rs 18,000 crore. The claimed faults in the calculation of AGR dues, according to Airtel, arose from duplication in revenue addition, Telco payments not being accounted in, and an inaccurate interest rate for computing spectrum usage charges (SUC), among other things. The Supreme Court dismissed Airtel’s appeal on July 23.
If the Supreme Court rejects Airtel’s newest petition, it can still launch a curative appeal. VI has announced that it will choose one as well.
