Vodafone Idea’s shares jumped 9% on Friday after the Supreme Court postponed the hearing on the telecom giant’s challenge to a fresh Rs 9,450-crore adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demand from the Centre. The government requested more time to respond, prompting the deferment.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, told the bench that since it now holds a significant stake in Vodafone Idea, a solution protecting consumer interests must be explored. The Centre requested that the case be listed again on September 26 for urgent consideration, stating it was not opposing Vodafone Idea’s plea.
At 12:45 pm, Vodafone Idea shares on the NSE were trading 11% higher at Rs 8.69 per share.
The case traces back to the Supreme Court’s March 18, 2020 order, which upheld AGR dues up to FY17 as calculated by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and barred any reassessment by operators. Despite this, DoT has issued fresh claims for FY18 and FY19. Vodafone Idea argued in its September 8 petition that much of the new demand overlaps with periods already settled by the Court.
The government currently owns 48.99% of Vodafone Idea, having converted Rs 53,083 crore of dues into equity in two tranches in February 2023 and April 2025. Of the Rs 9,450-crore demand, Rs 2,774 crore pertains to Idea Group and Vodafone Idea post-merger, while Rs 6,675 crore targets Vodafone Group for the pre-merger period.
Vodafone Idea already has AGR liabilities of about Rs 83,400 crore, with annual instalments of Rs 18,000 crore starting March. Including penalties and interest, total dues to the government are estimated at nearly Rs 2 trillion.
The telco argued that Rs 5,606 crore of the fresh demand relates to FY17 and earlier, which has already been settled by the 2020 order, and requested the Court to quash DoT’s new claims and conduct a full reconciliation of AGR dues. It warned that the additional liability could threaten its survival, affecting services to 198 million subscribers and jeopardising jobs of over 18,000 employees, along with many more indirectly dependent on the company.
Vodafone Idea also contested DoT’s revised calculations on licence fees and spectrum usage charges, stating that including spectrum charges up to FY17 would push additional dues to around Rs 6,800 crore as of March 2025. In an August 13 communication, DoT said updated licence fee dues up to FY19 were not considered in the 2020 order and recalculated amounts with penalties and interest compounded at 8% per year until March 2025. Vodafone Idea, in its August 28 reply, rejected these figures, accepting interest only on Rs 58,254 crore and highlighting “material errors” in DoT’s FY18 and FY19 calculations.