New Delhi: The Supreme Court today allowed telecom operators to pay up their aggregated gross revenue (AGR) dues in a staggered manner over a period of 10 years. The three-judge bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S.Abdul Nazeer and M.R. Shah also ruled that payments have to be done over a 10-year period starting April 2021, till 2031. Ten per cent has to be paid upfront. Any default would be punishable by contempt of court, beside interest and penalty.
The chairmen of the telecom companies will have to give undertakings for payments, the court said, adding that a default on payment installments will invite interest, penalty and contempt of court. Reacting to the development, shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd. rose as much as 6.6 per cent, while Vodafone Idea Ltd. pared gains to fall as much as 15 per cent.