DoT rules out Vi-like relief for Airtel, Tata Teleservices; telcos must pay ₹10,000 cr AGR dues by March 31

Officials told that in the absence of relief on the lines of Vodafone Idea (Vi), the telecom operators need to deposit the instalment in accordance with a Supreme Court order and that a failure to do so would be treated as contempt of court.

ET Bureau

Published On Mar 30, 2026 at 10:53 AM IST

Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices are required to pay nearly ₹10,000 crore to the government by March 31 as part of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

Officials told that in the absence of relief on the lines of Vodafone Idea (Vi), the telecom operators need to deposit the instalment in accordance with a Supreme Court order and that a failure to do so would be treated as contempt of court.

"We expect they will pay the AGR amount," an official said on condition of anonymity.

Also Read: Airtel seeks equal treatment on AGR dues, says Gopal Vittal

While Bharti Airtel had earlier written to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) seeking reassessment of its AGR dues on the lines of Vi, the DoT has made clear that it won't be applicable to other companies as the relief was specific to Vi and in case any other company wants relief, it has to get it through the SC. So far, no company has approached the apex court.

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Officials said Bharti Airtel has to pay more than ₹5,000 crore toward AGR dues while Tata Teleservices has to pay over ₹4,000 crore, adding that the amount will be higher when accrued interest is incorporated in the instalment.

Queries sent to Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices regarding payment of AGR dues remained unanswered till press time. In a significant relief to Vi, the government on December 31, 2025, announced freezing of the company's AGR related dues at ₹87,695 crore and allowing staggered repayments over 16 years until 2041. The majority AGR payments will start after 10 years.

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Meanwhile, a DoT committee is re-examining VI's AGR dues and the exercise is likely to be completed soon. The final amount which the company has to pay will come down substantially. But such relief is not available to other companies.

The AGR payment schedule becomes operational after a four-year moratorium granted to telecom firms in September 2021. That moratorium ended in 2024-25 and companies were supposed to begin six annual instalments before the end of 2025-26. The relief was meant to give operators financial breathing room to stabilise operations and invest in networks. However, in November 2025, given Vi's precarious financial position and the risk of its collapse, the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the government's policy decisions on telecom relief. This effectively allowed the Centre to extend further support to Vi and reassess its dues. The order was specific to Vi, in which the government holds the largest 49% stake.

Advt The situation is different for Bharti Airtel as after the AGR setback in 2019, the company has gained ground, returned to profitability, raised external funding, invested in networks and now has 40% market share. The company generated operating free cash flow of ₹55,300 crore in 2024-25. It was one of the reasons why the DoT did not act upon Bharti Airtel's request seeking conversion of some AGR dues into equity, as was done for Vi.

Bharti Airtel's AGR dues stood at ₹51,091 crore, as of December 31, 2025, according to the communications ministry, while those of Tata Group companies (Tata Teleservices and Tata Tele Maharashtra) stood at ₹20,426 crore. So far, Bharti Airtel has paid about ₹19,000 crore and Tata Group has paid ₹4,197 crore.