Vodafone Idea Limited has again filed a petition before the Supreme Court for exemption on government dues. In its petition filed in the Supreme Court this week, the company said that without bank funding, the company will not be able to operate beyond the financial year 2025-26, as it does not have the capacity to pay the AGR installment of Rs 18,000 crore to the Department of Telecommunications due in March 2026.
Vodafone Idea has sought a waiver from the Supreme Court on interest, penalty and interest on penalty on pending AGR dues of Rs 83,400 crore, which in total amounts to more than Rs 45,000 crore. The government had given the company a four-year moratorium on these payments, which is ending in the coming September.
In a petition filed in the Supreme Court, the company said that after the Central Government converted the spectrum dues into equity, the company again approached the banks for a loan, but they expressed their inability to provide a new loan until the AGR installments were resolved.
Let us tell you, the country’s third largest telecom company Vodafone Idea has been facing problems since the arrival of Reliance Jio. To provide relief to the company, the central government converted some of its dues into equity, due to which the government’s stake in the company has increased to 49%.
Vodafone Idea owes the government spectrum dues of about Rs 1.19 lakh crore, while its AGR dues are Rs 83,400 crore. Thus, the company’s total government dues exceed Rs 2 lakh crore.
The only relief news for the company is that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the review petition seeking relief on AGR dues. This is the reason why Vodafone Idea shares are trading 3.46% higher at Rs 7.48 on Friday.
