独家
政府正在考虑让电信公司在20年内支付AGR会费的方法
任何政府放宽AGR付款期限的努力都需要考虑到最高法院的裁决，该裁决要求电信公司在2031年3月31日前支付10年的费用。尽管内阁建议在20年的时间框架内支付这些会费。
新德里|孟买:政府正在探索允许电信公司等沃达丰的想法而且Bharti Airtel政府官员表示，他们将在20年内支付调整后的总收入(AGR)，并可能就一种可能的机制寻求法律意见。另外，敲定该行业纾困方案的进程正在加快。
任何政府放宽AGR付款期限的努力都需要考虑到最高法院的裁决，该裁决要求电信公司在2031年3月31日前支付10年的费用。尽管内阁建议在20年的时间框架内支付这些会费。
一名官员表示:“内阁早些时候批准了20年的AGR支付期限，但最高法院给了电信公司10年。”“现在，政府通常不会推翻最高法院的决定，但在这种情况下，它必须牢记行业、银行、员工和整个生态系统的健康。”
这意味着维的解脱
塔卡曾说:“我相信政府有权力，尽管我认为如果法院同意删除这些错误，这也是有帮助的。”“即使在最高法院的文件中，他们(政府)也提交了一份内阁照会，其中包括分期付款的数量等细节……这显然得到了内阁的批准。”
对于亏损的Vodafone Idea来说，任何减少AGR会费甚至年度AGR分期付款的举措都将是一种解脱。截至6月底，该电信公司拥有92亿卢比现金和现金等价物，背负着19万亿卢比的债务，面临58254亿卢比的AGR会费，其中它已支付了785.4亿卢比。
从目前的情况来看，它需要支付约900亿卢比作为下一期AGR分期付款，该分期将于2022年3月到期。专家表示，除非该公司筹集资金，提高关税，并从政府中得到缓解，否则它将无法支付这笔费用。沃达丰的想法将减轻AGR会费作为决定是否继续经营的关键因素。
沃达丰理念，由英国推广沃达丰集团和印度的Aditya Birla集团Bharti Airtel一直试图通过法律手段降低AGR会费。但到目前为止，他们的努力都失败了。这两家公司最近提出复审申请，反对7月份最高法院驳回他们的请求的命令，要求重新计算他们的AGR负债，理由是电信部门的计算存在算术错误。
另一名官员表示，关于确保该行业保持四角结构(三家私营公司加上国有的bsnl)的内部磋商已经加快了步伐。有迹象显示，沃达丰Idea的高级官员，包括董事总经理塔卡，上周会见了电信部长安舒·普拉卡什。
一名政府高级官员表示:“我们要求沃达丰Idea高管提供细节，说明一旦政府宣布救助计划，他们多久才能获得投资。”“政府不仅想知道投资的数量，还想知道公司中期计划的细节，包括一旦政府缓解，投资流入公司，他们预计ARPU(每用户平均收入)和相关指标将如何提高，他们的5G商业计划等等。”他补充说，政府希望确保其维持三家私营企业电信市场的努力不会白费。
然而，该电信公司只是表示，一旦该行业变得可行，投资者将准备投入资金，为此需要立即对该行业进行救助。
政府也一直在推动沃达丰创意英国公司的推广者沃达丰集团和Aditya Birla集团(ABG)——为他们的合资企业注入新的股权。但到目前为止，两家公司都坚称不会向该航空公司投资新的资金。
沃达丰Idea没有回应记者的询问。
尽管在过去11个月里进行了多次尝试，但沃达丰Idea仍未能完成其2500亿卢比的融资计划。该公司将无法筹集资金的主要原因归咎于电信行业的不景气。政府曾表示，如果政府采取措施，比如确定关税底价、放宽AGR支付，以及暂停下一期频谱费，它将能够吸引投资者。
官员们表示，虽然正在讨论放宽AGR支付时间表，但其他缓解该行业的措施包括将许可证费用从目前AGR的8%降低，并将拍卖购买的频谱的付款延期延长两年。
目前，电信公司不需要支付21财年和22财年的频谱费用，下一次向政府支付频谱费用将在23财年到期。他们曾为目前和未来的频谱支付寻求长达10年的暂停期。
“禁令可以再延长两年。行业要求更高，但政府也必须盈利。电信公司不能一直得到延期，”第三位官员表示。
的电信部(DoT)也在讨论是否不仅在未来，而且在回顾性地降低频谱使用费(SUC)。
政府希望沃达丰Idea的发起人注入资本
交通部可能会询问长期的ABG，沃达丰的承诺，因为它计划减轻部门负担。
一位官员说:“交通部有一部分人认为，由于拍卖的法律文件NIA(邀请申请通知)将SUC固定在一定水平，电信公司竞标无线电波的基础上，现在在法律上有可能扭转这一局面吗?”
然而，一些官员表示，为了让救助计划真正发挥作用，政府必须降低SUC，即使是回顾性的，并允许放弃之前购买的电视频道。
“交通部可能也会就此事寻求法律意见，”这位官员说。“目的是恢复电信行业的整体盈利能力，同时保持3 + 1市场。但是，只有沃达丰Idea采取补充措施，才能发挥作用。如果公司没有足够的投资和战略思考，这一揽子计划可能无法确保所有目标都得到满足。”
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<\/figure>New Delhi | Mumbai: The government is exploring ways to allow telcos such as Vodafone Idea<\/a> and Bharti Airtel<\/a> to pay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues over 20 years, and may seek a legal opinion on a possible mechanism, government officials said. Separately, the process to finalise a relief package for the sector is picking up pace.
Any government bid to relax the AGR payment tenure needs to take into account the Supreme Court ruling, which mandated telcos to pay their dues over 10 years, through March 31, 2031. This was despite the cabinet having recommended a 20-year time frame to pay those dues.
\u201cThe cabinet had earlier approved of a 20-year AGR payment tenure but the Supreme Court has given telcos 10 years,\" said one of the officials. \"Now, typically the government does not overrule the decision of the Supreme Court but in this case, it has to keep the health of the sector, banks, employees and the entire ecosystem in mind.\u201d
<\/div><\/div>At a recent earnings call, Vodafone Idea MD Ravinder Takkar said the government does have the powers to give more time to pay the AGR dues<\/a>.
Move would spell relief for Vi<\/strong>
\"I believe the government has the powers, although I think it is also helpful if the court agrees that these errors should be removed,\" Takkar had said. \"Even in the Supreme Court filing, they (government) had presented a cabinet note on which the details of the number of instalments and so on were put in\u2026that was obviously approved by the cabinet.\"
Any move which leads to a reduction in AGR dues or even the annual AGR instalments will come as relief for loss-making Vodafone Idea. The telco \u2013 which had Rs 920 crore in cash and cash equivalents at June end and is burdened with Rs 1.9 lakh crore of debt \u2013 faces Rs 58,254 crore in AGR dues, of which it has paid Rs 7,854 crore.
As things stand, it needs to pay around Rs 9,000 crore as its next AGR instalment, which falls due in March 2022. Experts say the carrier won\u2019t be able to make the payment unless it raises funds, increases tariffs and gets relief from the government. Vodafone idea has cited relief in AGR dues as a key factor in determining whether it continues as a going concern.
Move would spell relief for Vi<\/strong>
\"I believe the government has the powers, although I think it is also helpful if the court agrees that these errors should be removed,\" Takkar had said. \"Even in the Supreme Court filing, they (government) had presented a cabinet note on which the details of the number of instalments and so on were put in\u2026that was obviously approved by the cabinet.\"
Any move which leads to a reduction in AGR dues or even the annual AGR instalments will come as relief for loss-making Vodafone Idea. The telco \u2013 which had Rs 920 crore in cash and cash equivalents at June end and is burdened with Rs 1.9 lakh crore of debt \u2013 faces Rs 58,254 crore in AGR dues, of which it has paid Rs 7,854 crore.
As things stand, it needs to pay around Rs 9,000 crore as its next AGR instalment, which falls due in March 2022. Experts say the carrier won\u2019t be able to make the payment unless it raises funds, increases tariffs and gets relief from the government. Vodafone idea has cited relief in AGR dues as a key factor in determining whether it continues as a going concern.
<\/div><\/div>Bharti Airtel, which is much stronger financially, faces Rs 43,980 crore in AGR dues, of which it has paid over Rs 18,000 crore. It needs to pay less than Rs 4,500 crore as its AGR instalment in March 2022. Any reduction will help it free up cash for network investments and prepare for 5G rollouts, say experts.
Vodafone Idea, promoted by UK\u2019s Vodafone Group<\/a> and India\u2019s Aditya Birla Group<\/a>, and Bharti Airtel have been trying to get their AGR dues reduced through legal means. But their efforts so far have failed. The two have recently moved a review petition against a July top court order, which had junked their pleas, seeking a recalculation of their AGR liabilities, citing arithmetical errors in the telecom department\u2019s calculations.
Another official said that internal consultations on ensuring the sector retains a four-cornered structure\u2014three private sector companies plus state-owned BSNL\u2014have picked up pace. In signs of heightened activity, top officials of Vodafone Idea, including managing director Takkar, met telecom secretary Anshu Prakash last week.
\"The Vodafone Idea executives were asked to share details of how soon they will be able to get investment into the company, once the government announces a relief package,\" said a senior government official. \"The government wants to know not just the quantum of investment but details of the company's medium-term plans, including how they expect the ARPU (average revenue per user) and related metrics to improve once the government relief and consequent investment flows into the company, their business plans for 5G and so on.\" He added that the government wants to ensure that its efforts to maintain a three-private player telecom market don't go in vain.
However, the telco has only said that investors would be ready to pump in money once the sector became viable, for which immediate sectoral relief was needed.
The government has also been pushing the promoters of Vodafone Idea \u2013 UK\u2019s Vodafone Group Plc<\/a> and Aditya Birla Group (ABG) \u2013 to infuse fresh equity into their joint venture. But both have so far maintained that they won\u2019t be investing fresh funds into the carrier.
Vodafone Idea didn't respond to queries.
<\/figure>
Despite attempts over the last 11 months, Vodafone Idea has failed to conclude its planned Rs 25,000 crore fund raising. The telco has blamed unviability of the telecom sector as the chief reason for its inability to raise money. It has said that if the government were to take steps such as fixing a floor price for tariffs and easing the AGR payment, and a moratorium on the next instalment of spectrum dues, it will be able to rope in investors.
While a relaxation on the AGR payment timelines is being discussed, other steps to provide relief to the sector include reduction in licence fees from the current 8% of AGR and increasing the payment moratorium for spectrum bought in auctions by another two years, say officials.
Currently, telcos don\u2019t need to pay for spectrum for FY21 and FY22, with the next spectrum payment to the government only due in FY23. They had sought a moratorium period of up to 10 years for present and future spectrum payments.
\"Moratorium can be extended by another two years. The industry is asking for more but the government has to earn as well. Telcos cannot keep getting moratorium,\" said a third official.
The Department of Telecommunications<\/a> (DoT) is also debating whether to reduce spectrum usage charge (SUC) not just prospectively, but also retrospectively.
Vodafone Idea, promoted by UK\u2019s Vodafone Group<\/a> and India\u2019s Aditya Birla Group<\/a>, and Bharti Airtel have been trying to get their AGR dues reduced through legal means. But their efforts so far have failed. The two have recently moved a review petition against a July top court order, which had junked their pleas, seeking a recalculation of their AGR liabilities, citing arithmetical errors in the telecom department\u2019s calculations.
Another official said that internal consultations on ensuring the sector retains a four-cornered structure\u2014three private sector companies plus state-owned BSNL\u2014have picked up pace. In signs of heightened activity, top officials of Vodafone Idea, including managing director Takkar, met telecom secretary Anshu Prakash last week.
\"The Vodafone Idea executives were asked to share details of how soon they will be able to get investment into the company, once the government announces a relief package,\" said a senior government official. \"The government wants to know not just the quantum of investment but details of the company's medium-term plans, including how they expect the ARPU (average revenue per user) and related metrics to improve once the government relief and consequent investment flows into the company, their business plans for 5G and so on.\" He added that the government wants to ensure that its efforts to maintain a three-private player telecom market don't go in vain.
However, the telco has only said that investors would be ready to pump in money once the sector became viable, for which immediate sectoral relief was needed.
The government has also been pushing the promoters of Vodafone Idea \u2013 UK\u2019s Vodafone Group Plc<\/a> and Aditya Birla Group (ABG) \u2013 to infuse fresh equity into their joint venture. But both have so far maintained that they won\u2019t be investing fresh funds into the carrier.
Vodafone Idea didn't respond to queries.
<\/figure>Despite attempts over the last 11 months, Vodafone Idea has failed to conclude its planned Rs 25,000 crore fund raising. The telco has blamed unviability of the telecom sector as the chief reason for its inability to raise money. It has said that if the government were to take steps such as fixing a floor price for tariffs and easing the AGR payment, and a moratorium on the next instalment of spectrum dues, it will be able to rope in investors.
While a relaxation on the AGR payment timelines is being discussed, other steps to provide relief to the sector include reduction in licence fees from the current 8% of AGR and increasing the payment moratorium for spectrum bought in auctions by another two years, say officials.
Currently, telcos don\u2019t need to pay for spectrum for FY21 and FY22, with the next spectrum payment to the government only due in FY23. They had sought a moratorium period of up to 10 years for present and future spectrum payments.
\"Moratorium can be extended by another two years. The industry is asking for more but the government has to earn as well. Telcos cannot keep getting moratorium,\" said a third official.
The Department of Telecommunications<\/a> (DoT) is also debating whether to reduce spectrum usage charge (SUC) not just prospectively, but also retrospectively.