Telecom companies may get a 20-year window to repay their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, reported The Economic Times. A government panel is considering the offer with the aim of providing relief on telecom firms.
In addition, the report said that the Union government may also consider a reduction in the total incidence of taxation to help the troubled sector. Further, the authorities may also separately reach out to the telecom regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in order to provide further help.
The development comes soon after the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had written to the government detailing troubles faced by the telecom sector and asked the Centre to provide a complete waiver of statutory dues that its other members such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea owe to the government following the Supreme Court ruling that asked the companies to deposit the outstanding amount within three months.
This in turn had led to a strongly-worded response from Reliance Jio, who in a letter to the COAI director general, Rajan S Mathew, alleged that the association's letter did not represent the view of the industry and that it was exploiting legitimate payout obligations to create an “alarmist propaganda for the doom of the telecom industry”.
Disclaimer: RIL, the promoter of Reliance Jio, also controls Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com.
In addition, the report said that the Union government may also consider a reduction in the total incidence of taxation to help the troubled sector. Further, the authorities may also separately reach out to the telecom regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in order to provide further help.
"All options are on the table … the government is keen to ensure that the telecom sector remains competitive,” a government official was quoted as saying in the report.
The development comes soon after the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) had written to the government detailing troubles faced by the telecom sector and asked the Centre to provide a complete waiver of statutory dues that its other members such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea owe to the government following the Supreme Court ruling that asked the companies to deposit the outstanding amount within three months.
This in turn had led to a strongly-worded response from Reliance Jio, who in a letter to the COAI director general, Rajan S Mathew, alleged that the association's letter did not represent the view of the industry and that it was exploiting legitimate payout obligations to create an “alarmist propaganda for the doom of the telecom industry”.
Disclaimer: RIL, the promoter of Reliance Jio, also controls Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com.
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
