Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Thursday approached the Supreme Court with a review petition challenging an earlier order of the court which had disallowed rectification of "arithmetical errors" for the calculation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.
"Airtel filed its review petition in SC on Thursday," conveyed a person aware of the development, according to The Economic Times.
Airtel has filed this petition days after competitor Vodafone Idea (VI) had approached the apex court urging it to look into the miscalculations done by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Vodafone Idea has told the apex court that it is a "travesty of justice" and "inconceivable" that the errors were not allowed to be corrected.
Earlier in 2019, the SC had widened the scope of AGR to also include non-telecom items. This had resulted in Airtel and VI being left with massive AGR dues. The issue was raised again in January when Airtel approached the SC wanting a modification to the "mistaken orders", which had allowed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to demand Rs 43,980 crore as total AGR dues, according to the daily.
According to Bharti Airtel, it owes DoT Rs 13,004 crore and has already paid Rs 18,000 crore to the department.
In January, Airtel had explained the alleged errors in the calculation of AGR dues had stemmed from from duplication in revenue addition, payments made by the telco not being factored in, incorrect interest rate for calculating spectrum usage charges (SUC), amongst others. On July 23, the Supreme Court had rejected Airtel's appeal.
If the SC rejects Airtel's latest petition, then it will still have the option to file a curative appeal. VI has stated that it will also opt for one.
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