On September 20, telecom provider Vodafone Idea Ltd arranged a conference call with investors and analysts on September 23 to offer "an update on recent developments". The statement comes after the Supreme Court dismissed a number of petitions filed by corporations, including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, seeking correction of purported inaccuracies in Adjusted Gross Revenue.
Vodafone Idea's shares have seen selling pressure in the previous two trading sessions following the apex court verdict. The shares have fallen roughly 20% in the previous two days. Vodafone Idea stated its CEO and CFO will attend the meeting on September 23 from 2:30 to 3 p.m. IST. On September 20, Vodafone Idea's shares finished 1.35 percent higher at Rs 10.52 each.
"Vodafone Idea Limited will have a conference call with its senior management on Monday, September 23, 2024, from 02.30 PM to 03.00 PM, Indian Standard Time, to report on recent events. The Company's conference call participants will include Akshaya Moondra, Chief Executive Officer, and Murthy GVAS, Chief Financial Officer, who will be joined by the senior management team, according to a stock exchange filing.
A panel of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, and B R Gavai also denied the telcos' request to list the curative petitions for open court hearing. A curative petition is the Supreme Court's final legal remedy, and it is usually heard in-chamber unless a prima facie reason for reconsideration of the ruling is presented.
"The application to list the Curative Petitions in open Court has been refused. We have reviewed the Curative Petitions and related documentation. In our judgment, no case is made out within the criteria set forth in this court's ruling in Rupa Ashok Hurra. "The Curative Petitions are dismissed," the bench stated in a ruling dated August 30 that was posted on Thursday.
On October 9, last year, the Supreme Court took note of statements from various telecommunication firms requesting the listing of their petitions on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) due issue. The telcos claimed that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) made mistakes in the mathematical computation used to determine the AGR-related dues.
In July 2021, the Supreme Court denied a petition seeking rectification of irregularities in the demand for AGR dues. The telecom firms had petitioned the Supreme Court, stating that there were various irregularities in calculating the AGR dues, which totaled more than Rs one lakh crore.
Vodafone Idea's overall liabilities was Rs 58,254 crore, whereas Bharti Airtel's was Rs 43,980 crore. Previously, the Supreme Court gave telecom corporations ten years to repay their outstanding debts to the government. The highest court ruled that the DoT's claim for AGR dues would be final. It also said that telecom businesses would not be allowed to file a challenge or have their assessments reassessed. It said that telecom operators must pay 10% of the total dues required by the DoT by March 31, 2021, with the remainder due in annual installments beginning April 1, 2021 and ending March 31, 2031.
