DoT issues ₹7,800-crore demand notice to Tata Communications over AGR dues
He said the demand notices include ₹276.68 crore towards disallowance of deductions claimed by the company on payment basis for the financial year (FY) 2010-11 under ISP (internet service provider) licence and FY07 and FY10 under NLD (national long distance) licence.
Tata Communications has existing appeals relating to its ILD (International Long Distance), NLD, and ISP licences that were filed in the past and are pending at the Supreme Court and telecom tribunal TDSAT.
Lakshminarayan said the company's appeals are not covered by the apex court judgement dated October 24, 2019, on AGR under the old telecom licence regime called UASL.
"Further, the company believes that all its licences are different from UASL, which was the subject matter of Hon'ble
Supreme Court judgement
of October 24, 2019. The company, based on its assessment and independent legal opinions, believes that it will be able to defend its position," Lakshminarayan said.
As per initial calculation by the government, telecom operators had liability to pay around ₹1.65 lakh crore in total
AGR dues
till FY19.
The calculation as of March 2022 showed that the AGR liability on
Bharti Airtel
was ₹31,280 crore,
Vodafone Idea
₹59,236.63 crore,
Reliance Jio
₹631 crore,
BSNL
₹16,224 crore,
MTNL
₹5,009.1 crore up to financial year 2018-19.
The government calculation at that time did not include liability on Tata Communications.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
21 hours ago
- Economic Times
DoT issues Rs 7,800-crore demand notice to Tata Communications over AGR dues
New Delhi: The Department of Telecom has issued a "show-cause-cum-demand notice" of about Rs 7,800 crore to Tata Communications over adjusted gross revenue dues, according to an official note by the company. The demand has been raised by the Department of Telecom (DoT) for adjusted gross revenue (AGR) from 2005-06 till 2023-24, as per the note dated July 17. "As at June 30, 2025, the company has received 'Show Cause-cum Demand Notices' ('demand notices') from Department of Telecommunications of India aggregating to Rs 7,827.55 crore for financial years ranging from FY 2005-06 to FY 2023-24, which have been revised over a period of time," Tata Communications Managing Director AS Lakshminarayan said. He said the demand notices include Rs 276.68 crore towards disallowance of deductions claimed by the company on payment basis for the financial year (FY) 2010-11 under ISP (internet service provider) licence and FY07 and FY10 under NLD (national long distance) licence. Tata Communications has existing appeals relating to its ILD (International Long Distance), NLD, and ISP licences that were filed in the past and are pending at the Supreme Court and telecom tribunal TDSAT. Lakshminarayan said the company's appeals are not covered by the apex court judgement dated October 24, 2019, on AGR under the old telecom licence regime called UASL. "Further, the company believes that all its licences are different from UASL, which was the subject matter of Hon'ble Supreme Court judgement of October 24, 2019. The company, based on its assessment and independent legal opinions, believes that it will be able to defend its position," Lakshminarayan said. As per initial calculation by the government, telecom operators had liability to pay around Rs 1.65 lakh crore in total AGR dues till FY19. The calculation as of March 2022 showed that the AGR liability on Bharti Airtel was Rs 31,280 crore, Vodafone Idea Rs 59,236.63 crore, Reliance Jio Rs 631 crore, BSNL Rs 16,224 crore, MTNL Rs 5,009.1 crore up to financial year 2018-19. The government calculation at that time did not include liability on Tata Communications.
Economic Times
21 hours ago
- Economic Times
TDSAT halts ₹141 cr spam penalties on telcos, next hearing on August 8
ETTelecom Representative image. India's telecom operators won't need to pay penalties to the tune of around Rs141 crore levied by regulator for not being able to control spam till August 8, the next date of hearing on the case in the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The telecom tribunal, at a hearing Thursday, adjourned the matter till August 8, and asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to submit an affidavit on the matter. During the hearing, both sides presented their arguments. As Trai has to share further information, the tribunal asked the counsel for the regulator to file an affidavit containing the requisite details. The regulator had levied penalties on all three private telcos - Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as well as state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) - for failing to control spam. However, the operators had challenged the penalties, arguing that the regulator should not have levied the penalties when an anti-spam platform was still in the process of development. TDSAT had stayed the Trai's penalties in January. The fines were levied as part of the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR). The telcos argue that the delays in implementation of spam control measures were caused due to Covid and they were not responsible for the delay. To support their point, the telcos submitted details to the TDSAT stating that when Trai imposed the penalties, the digital consent acquisition (DCA) platform was still being staying the penalties in its January 28 order, the TDSAT had observed that telecom firms were not responsible for the delay in implementation of the regulations, including the DCA.'Thus, it is unfair and arbitrary on the part of the respondent to impose financial disincentives on the appellants (telcos) for something which was beyond their control,' TDSAT said in the January levying of penalties on telecom firms as part of the TCCCPR has been a bone of contention between the regulators and telcos. While the regulator has been imposing penalties on telcos, it has not realised any money as operators contended that they should not be held accountable for something which they don't control or to get the amount itself, the regulator had even asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to encash the bank guarantees of the companies to recover the amount. But the DoT has not agreed to the request of regulator has been strengthening the TCCCPR rules, but the telcos argue that since key stakeholders like telemarketers, over the top (OTT) have been kept out of the purview of the rules, there won't be desired results to curb spam.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Time of India
Internet companies say draft telecom cybersecurity rules to extend regulatory oversight, raise costs
NEW DELHI: Internet companies have cautioned that the Department of Telecommunications ' (DoT) proposed Draft Telecommunication (Telecom Cyber Security) Amendment Rules, 2025, could extend regulatory oversight to non-telecom licensed entities and raise costs, which will dent profits and impact ordinary consumers. The industry raised concerns that the proposed telecom cybersecurity amendments exceed the legislative scope of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, by creating a new category of entities – Telecommunication Identifier User Entities (TIUEs) – which cover a wide-range of non-telecom licensed digital service providers , such as e-commerce players, banks, food delivery, streaming, gaming, and others. The new draft rules, in their current form, will apply to all 'telecommunication identifier user entities' (TIUEs), or entities that use phone numbers to identify customers or their transactions. The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in its submission to the telecom department, said that the inclusion of digital businesses under the proposed amendments was in 'violation of the scope of the Telecom Act and amounts to regulatory overreach'. IAMAI further said that the proposed creation of a Mobile Number Validation (MNV) platform and imposition of a verification fee (₹1.5/₹3) could prove to be a 'significant expense and compliance burden for digital businesses'. 'This might lead to increased service costs for end-users and reduced profit margins for businesses, particularly for start-ups and MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) where such costs may be disproportionately felt,' it added. IT industry association NASSCOM , in a letter to Devendra Kumar Rai, joint secretary (telecom), DoT, said one of the most pressing concerns of digital companies is the proposed fee of ₹1.5-3 per verification request via the MNV platform, which is nearly 30 to 60 times higher than the prevailing cost of existing one-time password (OTP)-based verification, which is basically under ₹0.1 per request. 'For platforms handling large transaction volumes or serving cost-sensitive user segments, such a pricing structure is economically unsustainable. Moreover, the lack of clarity on whether the fee applies per user or per transaction further complicates cost projections,' National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) said in its letter, dated July 24, 2025. It warned that smaller players, startups, and high-volume platforms will be 'disproportionately impacted', creating barriers to innovation and hindering the government's goals around digital inclusion and ease of doing business. 'This may also discourage small businesses in adoption of verification technologies,' said NASSCOM. The Broadband India Forum (BIF), in its submission, said that the existing mechanisms, such as DoT's ICDR system and CEIR portal enable IMEI registration, verification, and blocking, noting that the draft telecom cybersecurity amendments add a 'duplicative step in IMEI allocation process for OEMs which would interfere with GSMA processes'. 'Do not operationalise the MNV platform, i.e., Rules 7A read with 2(cb) without a clear legal basis, defined purpose and privacy protections. If operationalised, MNV should be voluntary, especially due to the prohibitive costs of compliance impacting innovation and adoption of digital verification tools,' BIF said, adding that the provisions regarding fees should be reconsidered due to the absence of legislative sanction for the same. BIF's members include global Internet and technology giants including Google, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Netflix, among others.
