独家
最高法院指示交通部不要调用Airtel银行担保不支付Videocon的AGR会费
交通部于2020年8月17日发布了一份催款通知，要求Bharti Airtel在一周内支付13.76亿卢比的AGR会费，否则就调用银行担保。
新德里:周二，最高法院指示电信部门不要援引银行担保Bharti Airtel因未支付已倒闭电讯公司的经调整总营收会费而被判罚款三个星期Videocon电信(VTL)。
由L Nageswara Rao法官领导的三人法官小组允许Bharti Airtel参加电信纠纷解决和上诉法庭(TDSAT)就该问题进行救济。
“我们已经明确表示，我们不会审查(主要AGR)的判断。他(Airtel)想提出申请。我们将允许。他(Airtel)说，现在会费增加了，所以你要牵着他的手一段时间，直到他去参加TDSAT，”由SA Nazeer法官和Shah法官组成的法官告诉总检察长Tushar Mehta。
交通部于2020年8月17日发布了一份催款通知，要求Bharti Airtel在一周内支付13.76亿卢比的AGR会费，否则就调用银行担保。会费是Videocon该公司的频谱于2016年被苏尼尔米塔尔(Sunil mittal)领导的运营商收购。2016年，Videocon以442.8亿卢比的价格将六个圈子中1800 MHz频段的频谱使用权出售给了Airtel。
Sunil mittal领导的电信公司表示，到目前为止，它已经以AGR会费的方式支付了18004亿卢比，根据最高法院的命令，这超过了2021年3月31日之前应支付的会费的10%。交通部要求Airtel支付43980亿卢比的AGR会费。
代表Airtel的高级律师希亚姆·迪万(Shyam Divan)表示，由于频谱交易协议，Airtel不负责Videocon的费用，因为法律规定“卖方应在达成任何频谱交易协议之前付清所有费用”。
“我们的协议日期是2016年3月16日。我是买方，生效日期为2016年5月18日。如果当事人当时不知道有责任，政府有权共同或严厉追偿。在我们的案例中，我们之间的共同点是，这是已知的责任，所以我们不在未知责任的领域，”迪万辩称。“责任在Videocon，全部责任在卖方。”
对此，迪万回应道:“我们不想重审判决。”
Bharti Airtel在AGR案件中向最高法院提出复审请求
Airtel的请愿是在竞争对手沃达丰Idea (Vi)向最高法院提出要求，让最高法院调查电信部(DoT)所谓的计算错误的几天后提出的，这对两家公司的影响最大。
他补充说，13.76亿卢比是Videocon的会费，必须由该公司支付。“事实上，交通部已经在破产程序中向Videocon索赔，”Divan说。
迪万表示，交通部的“草率行动”“完全影响了我们的工作”，并寻求暂缓政府的要求通知。
交通部于2021年4月向最高法院提交了一份宣誓书，称Airtel不顾Videocon的要求，拒绝支付与agro相关的费用。
在其回应中，Airtel通过日期为2020年10月16日和2021年3月3日的信件表示，交通部的要求“没有法律依据”，Airtel不能对Videocon过去的费用负责，因为频谱买家不负责在交易时“已知”的费用。
根据交通部的宣誓书，Airtel补充说，与目前的立场相反，交通部过去从未向Airtel提出过这样的要求，并坚持其立场，即这些费用只能从Videocon收回。
“…鉴于Hon 'ble最高法院的明确裁决，交通部发布的交易指南和交通部自己的理解，以及从未向Airtel提出此类要求的事实，充分证明了Airtel对Videocon与未支付的AGR费用有关的任何未支付费用不承担责任。即M/S Videocon的许可费和频谱使用费，”根据美国交通部的宣誓书，Airtel表示。
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。
![\"SC](\"https:\/\/st.etb2bimg.com\/Themes\/Release\/images\/responsive\/ettelecom-default.jpg\")
<\/figure>New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the telecom department not to invoke bank guarantees of Bharti Airtel<\/a> for three weeks over non-payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of defunct telco Videocon Telecommunications<\/a> (VTL).
A three-judge bench led by Justice L Nageswara Rao allowed Bharti Airtel to go to the Telecom Disputes Settlement<\/a> and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) for relief over the issue.
\u201cWe\u2019ve made it clear we will not review the (main AGR) judgement. He (Airtel) wants to file an application. We will allow. He (Airtel) says after dues are added now, so you hold your hands for some time till he goes before TDSAT,\u201d the bench also comprising Justice SA Nazeer and Justice MR Shah told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
<\/div><\/div>Mehta was arguing that the recovery notice served by the Department of Telecommunications<\/a> (DoT) on Airtel was as per the court\u2019s AGR dues order. He added that he would contest the jurisdiction of the TDSAT to decide the issue.
The DoT had issued a demand notice on August 17, 2020, asking Bharti Airtel to pay AGR dues assessed at Rs 1376 crore within a week or have the bank guarantees invoked. The dues were of Videocon<\/a> Telecommunications, whose spectrum was acquired by the Sunil Mittal-led carrier in 2016. Videocon had sold rights to use spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band in six circles to Airtel in 2016 for Rs 4,428 crore.
The Sunil Mittal-led telco said that it had so far paid the government Rs 18004 crore by way of AGR dues, which was more than 10 percent of dues to have been paid by March 31, 2021, as per the top court\u2019s order. DoT has demanded Rs43,980 crore from Airtel towards AGR dues.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Airtel, said that Airtel was not responsible for Videocon\u2019s dues on account of the spectrum trading deal as the law states that the \u2018seller shall clear all dues prior to concluding any agreement for spectrum trading\u2019.
\u201cOur agreement date is 16th March 2016. I am the buyer and the effective date is 18th May 2016. If there was a liability not known to parties at the time, the government has discretion to recover jointly or severely. In our case, it's common ground between us that it was known liability, so we are not in the realm of unknown liability,\u201d argued Diwan. \u201cThe liability is of Videocon, full liability is of the seller.\u201d
The DoT had issued a demand notice on August 17, 2020, asking Bharti Airtel to pay AGR dues assessed at Rs 1376 crore within a week or have the bank guarantees invoked. The dues were of Videocon<\/a> Telecommunications, whose spectrum was acquired by the Sunil Mittal-led carrier in 2016. Videocon had sold rights to use spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band in six circles to Airtel in 2016 for Rs 4,428 crore.
The Sunil Mittal-led telco said that it had so far paid the government Rs 18004 crore by way of AGR dues, which was more than 10 percent of dues to have been paid by March 31, 2021, as per the top court\u2019s order. DoT has demanded Rs43,980 crore from Airtel towards AGR dues.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Airtel, said that Airtel was not responsible for Videocon\u2019s dues on account of the spectrum trading deal as the law states that the \u2018seller shall clear all dues prior to concluding any agreement for spectrum trading\u2019.
\u201cOur agreement date is 16th March 2016. I am the buyer and the effective date is 18th May 2016. If there was a liability not known to parties at the time, the government has discretion to recover jointly or severely. In our case, it's common ground between us that it was known liability, so we are not in the realm of unknown liability,\u201d argued Diwan. \u201cThe liability is of Videocon, full liability is of the seller.\u201d
<\/div><\/div>The bench intervened, saying \u201cWe know where you are heading, but we are not going to review this judgement.\u201d
To this, Divan responded: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to review the judgement.\u201d
To this, Divan responded: \u201cWe don\u2019t want to review the judgement.\u201d