Vodafone Idea gets AGR relief; telco to pay ₹124 crore annually over next 6 years
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Vodafone Idea on Friday confirmed in an exchange filing that the government has frozen its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, with the telecom operator set to pay a maximum of ₹124 crore annually over the next six years beginning March 2026 to March 2031. The company will also make annual payments of ₹100 crore between March 2032 and March 2035.
The confirmation comes more than a week after reports suggested that the Centre had extended relief to the debt-laden telco by freezing its AGR liabilities at ₹87,695 crore and restructuring the repayment timeline for dues—including principal, interest and interest on penalty—for the period from FY06–07 to FY18–19.
Remaining dues will be repaid in equal annual instalments
According to the filing, the remaining AGR dues, following a reassessment, will be repaid in equal annual instalments over six years, from March 2036 to March 2041. “A committee is to be constituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to reassess the AGR dues, whose decision shall be final. Thereafter, the reassessed amount is to be repaid between March 2036 to March 2041 in equal annual instalments,” the company said.
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The communication from the DoT follows the government’s decision to provide a fresh relief package to Vodafone Idea by freezing AGR dues at ₹87,695 crore and allowing repayment over a 10-year period beginning 2031–32.
Govt currently holds a 49% stake in Vodafone Idea
The government currently holds a 49% stake in the telecom operator. The government sources said the measures are intended to protect the Centre’s 49% stake in Vodafone Idea, enable an orderly recovery of its dues, preserve competition in the telecom sector, and safeguard the interests of the company’s nearly 20 crore subscribers.
The development also follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that allowed the government to reassess and reconcile Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues up to FY2016–17. The company, formed in 2018 through the merger of UK-based Vodafone Group and the Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular, had approached the apex court seeking a recalculation of dues and a waiver of penalties and interest citing financial distress.
Shares of Vodafone Idea jumped up to 8% on Friday morning, however, pared gains while closing. The stock closed 1.7 per cent lower at ₹11.30 on the BSE.