On Friday, the Supreme Court deferred the hearing of Vodafone Idea Ltd’s plea challenging an additional Rs.9,450 crore Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) demand from the Union government after the Centre sought more time.
The dispute arose from the Supreme Court’s order that finalised Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues up to FY2016-17, based on Department of Telecommunications (DoT) calculations, which barred any self-assessment or reassessment of those dues. Despite this, the Department of Telecommunications later sought additional payments for FY2018 and FY2019, prompting Vodafone Idea to challenge the demand, arguing that most of it pertained to periods already settled by the apex court.
The government owns 50% of Vodafone Idea, having converted Rs.53,083 crore of AGR dues into equity in February 2023 and April 2025. Of the ₹9,450 crore additional demand, Rs 2,774 crore pertains to Idea Group and Vodafone Idea post-merger, while Rs 6,675 crore relates to Vodafone Group pre-merger. Vodafone Idea already owes around Rs 83,400 crore in AGR dues, with annual payments of Rs18,000 crore starting March.
Vodafone Idea contended that DoT’s revised calculations for licence fees and spectrum usage charges are erroneous. The company argued that including spectrum usage charges up to FY17 would inflate dues to about Rs 6,800 crore. Vodafone Idea sought quashing of DoT’s additional demands for FY17 and earlier and requested a comprehensive reassessment of all AGR dues for the period, warning that the liability threatened the company’s survival and the livelihoods of over 18,000 employees serving 198 million subscribers.
The government, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, stated that since it now holds a significant stake in Vodafone Idea, a solution must be found that benefits consumers and urged the court to hear the matter urgently.
Vodafone Idea highlighted that its annual payments of Rs18,000 crore far exceed its operational cash generation capacity of Rs8,400-9,200 crore per year. The company has repeatedly rejected DoT’s revised demand without Supreme Court clarification, noting interest and penalties applied to amounts already crystallised by earlier court orders.
The Court deferred the hearing, with the matter now likely to be taken up next Friday.
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