AGR case HIGHLIGHTS: Supreme Court dismisses applications of telecom majors alleging errors in calculation of dues; Vodafone Idea slips

Thank you, readers! That's all from the Supreme Court verdict on the plea of telecom majors Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Tata Teleservices to consider the computation of the adjusted gross revenue demand from the Department of Telecommunications.

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Vodafone Idea shares plunge 10%, Bharti Airtel down 1% after Supreme Court dismisses plea for AGR recomputation
The share prices of telecom companies declined by over 1-10 percent on Friday after the Supreme Court of India rejected Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Tata Teleservices' applications seeking re-computation of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) – related dues. Shares of Vodafone Idea were down 10 percent, Bharti Airtel fell over one percent, while Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) declined five percent.

Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde on SC verdict in AGR case today: Can't expect court to rewirte its judgment; telcos should have raised it right from the beginning
The point is that all these errors must have existed right from the beginning, the DoT may have known of them, telecom companies must have known of them. If they did not point out to the Supreme Court much earlier on then, the case was yet at large before the court. Everything that you might be able to argue, you ought to argue at the first stage, you can’t hold back things and come back later and keep asking for a re-writing of a judgement. I think the Supreme Court has more than enough, this may not prevent other administrative or legislative measures but you can’t expect the Supreme Court to keep re-write its judgement.

Meet Malhotra, Senior Advocate reacts on SC verdict on AGR recomputation case today
This was expected, but still disappointing in the sense that when there are computational errors with self-evidence, I would have thought that may be the Supreme Court would have given it another look. But as I said last time Supreme Court could take a view that enough is enough, we have been back and forth on this and whichever figures for good or bad DoT threw up those have been accepted by the court and taken as sacrosanct, so go ahead and pay them. That is of course plausible view and one that Supreme Court has taken but I still say on a personal level it is disappointing.

AGR Verdict | Bharti Airtel rises while Vodafone Idea slips after SC judgement on recomputation of AGR dues

Senior advocate Gopal Jain reacts on SC verdict in AGR case today
“The court had already pronounced this substantial order earlier and this order does not change that order. So to a large extent the issue had been dealt with in the earlier order passed by the court and this clarification on the computation thing, based on what you are saying the court has declined to intervene. So the situation remains unchanged from what it was in the past. So when the verdict is given people do factor in it implications and consequences in general.”

“It is always comes down to analysing the impact of an order and working out recourse which could be across the spectrum, need not necessarily be legal recourse so as to put it. But I think one should not write off all situations and scenarios.”

AGR Verdict | Banks' exposure to Vodafone Idea becomes important after Supreme Court dismisses the application for recomputation of AGR dues

SC dismisses plea by Bharti Airtel, Voda Idea, seeking correction of arithmetic errors in AGR demand

Stocks Updates: Vodafone Idea dips 10%, Bharti Airtel trades lower as Supreme Court rejects plea seeking correction of arithmetic errors in AGR demand.

Track CNBC-TV18.com's market blog for the latest on telco and bank stocks affected by the SC verdict

Just In | Supreme Court dismisses plea by Bharti Airtel, Voda Idesa seeking correction of arithmetic errors in AGR demand

The Supreme Court had previously observed that on three occasions the apex court had held that there is no room for recomputation of AGR demand. READ MORE

Bharti Airtel -
Total Demand - 43980cr
Self Assessmemt - 13004cr
Paid - 18004cr

Vi -
Total Demand - 58254cr
Self Assessment - 21533cr
Paid - 7854cr.

Tata Tele -
Total Demand - 16798cr
Self Assessment - 2197cr
Paid - 4197cr

AGR Case -
SC to pronounce judgment on Airtel, Voda-Idea plea seeking recomputation of AGR dues.

Voda Idea claimed that it is about to go under, cited dues of 1.8 lakh cr, sought correction of arithmetic errors.

Bharti Airtel claimed duplication, unaccounted payments, disallowed deductions.

Solicitor General had informed SC that DOT had not shared any instructions on allowing correction of errors.

SC had observed that previously on three occasions the court held that AGR demand cant be recomputed.

SC had reserved orders on Airtel, Voda-Idea on July 19

From the Vault: Explained: What is AGR and why are govt and telecom firms in Supreme Court over it?

What is AGR?

AGR is a fee-sharing mechanism between the government and the telcos who shifted to the 'revenue-sharing fee' model in 1999, from the 'fixed license fee' model. In this course, telcos are supposed to share a percentage of AGR with the government.

Here’s an explainer to help you understand the AGR case

End of IUC dents telcos revenues; tariff hikes critical, Bharti Airtel top pick, says CLSA

Vodafone Idea exposure for banking sector
Vodafone has raised concerns on its ability to continue as a going concern
Total net debt at FY21 end stands at Rs 1.8 lakh crores
Total AGR dues as assessed by DOTs est at Rs 58254 cr; to be paid in 10 annual installments starting FY22
Highest exposure, as % of the book, is of IDFC First Bank, YES Bank and IndusInd Bank
Lowest exposure is of HDFC Bank, Axis Bank & ICICI Bank

Here are the key highlights from the case on July 19:

AGR Case –
Voda-Idea claims its about to go under, joins Airtel plea in seeking correction of accounting errors in AGR demand.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informs that he has not received any instructions from DOT on allowing correction of errors.

SC observes that it has said not just once, but twice and thrice that AGR demand can’t be recomputed.  

SC reserves order on Bharti Airtel, Voda Idea plea seeking correction of errors in AGR demand.

Voda Idea to SC -
Figure is not cast in stone, SC has power to correct arithmetic error.

My dues are 58,000cr, we are about to go under, Our debts are 1.8 lakh crores.

Let’s us place our calculations before DOT, let DOT take a call.

Bharti Airtel to SC –
In computation of AGR dues there are cases of duplication, payments made not accounted for.

Purely by oversight certain permissible deductions have also not been allowed

Only asking for these issues, errors to be considered by DOT.

Don’t want to pay thousands of crores on account of these errors.

Tata to SC –
But like any tax or fee, AGR has to be in accordance with law.

Judgment prohibits only re-assessment, SC has not barred rectification of calculative errors.

Catch detailed highlights

Here's a recap of what happened on July 19 hearing in the AGR case in Supreme Court

On July 19, the Supreme Court heard pleas from Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Idea as well as Tata Tele seeking a correction of an error in the AGR dues. The apex court reserved the order.

Vodafone-Idea's fund raising plan of Rs 25,000 crore hinges on AGR clarity and it's important from a cash flow management point of view because they have dues that are linked to the AGR payment as well as spectrum obligation which is due from next year March-April. Therefore, it’s a crucial verdict and will lift a longstanding overhang on the incumbent players.

Watch the accompanying video of CNBC-TV18’s Reema Tendulkar for more details.

Good morning readers and welcome to CNBC-TV18.com's live blog on the Supreme Court's likely ruling on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case today at 10.30 am. Our team of journalists will keep you posted on the latest updates and developments from the hearing, likely ruling and reactions following that. Staty tuned with us for more