Vodafone Seeks 10 Years To Pay Its AGR Dues: Report

Vodafone-Idea is hit by a deep financial crisis, due to the AGR issue. The company owes about Rs. 53,000 crore in dues. In fact, it has already paid Rs. 3,500 crore to the government, and now the telco is hopeful that it will receive some relief from the ministry in the coming days.

However, a new report by PTI claims that its CEO Nick Read believes that the company's situation is critical. "Specifically, we have requested an immediate two-year moratorium on spectrum payments, lowering of license fees and taxes, waving off interest and penalties on the AGR (adjusted gross revenue) case and ability to make the payment on principal over 10 years with a 2-year moratorium," Read said.

Notably, the statement comes after VIL has paid some amount of dues to the Department of Telecommunication (DOT). "In October, the Supreme Court gave an adverse judgement in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case against the industry. VIL is actively seeking various forms of relief from the Indian Government." Read added.

He said that both Vodafone-Idea and the Airtel have filed a review petitions in the Supreme Court so that they can get some more time to pay their dues. However, the apex court has refused to give more time and asked them to pay the whole amount by March 17, 2020.

Meanwhile, many rumors are surfacing online, which says that the global CEO of Vodafone is likely to visit India. The company's CEO is expected to meet telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad so that they can get some relief. It is worth mentioning that Vodafone holds a 45.39 percent stake in the merger company (VIL). Apart from that, the company has launched its Turbonet 4G services in Pune to boost its 4G network in the circle.