Government Panel Plans To Allow Telecom Companies To Repay AGR Dues Over 20 Years To Ease Financial Stress
[ By Bobby Anthony ]A government panel is looking at allowing financially stressed telecom service providers to repay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, staggering it over a period of 20 years.There would also be a possible initial moratorium based on the net present value (NPV) method to ease the burden on heavily indebted telecom companies.The government could also consider a reduction...
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A government panel is looking at allowing financially stressed telecom service providers to repay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, staggering it over a period of 20 years.
There would also be a possible initial moratorium based on the net present value (NPV) method to ease the burden on heavily indebted telecom companies.
The government could also consider a reduction in the total incidence of taxation to help the troubled sector and separately reach out to the telcom regulator to consider some floor on tariffs to help with viability.
The government may not even need to waive interest and penalty on AGR dues adding up to Rs 1.3 lakh crore in case of a long payback period, although that option also is being discussed.
It may be recalled that a Supreme Court decision on October 26 which backed the telecom department’s stance on including revenues from non-core items in the definition of AGR while calculating government levies, has created a crisis for the debt-ridden telecom sector. The decision means a Rs 1.3 lakh crore burden on telecom companies.
