Supreme Court directs Airtel, Vodafone Idea and others to pay AGR dues over 10 years

• Delivering the final verdict in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case today, the Supreme Court directed Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies to pay AGR dues over 10 years.
• It asked telcos to pay up 10% of the dues by March 2021, and the remaining in equal instalments over the balance period.
• The Indian share market responded quickly to the verdict - while Airtel’s share price jumped by over 5%, Vodafone Idea plummeted by 15%.
• While Airtel has a balance AGR due of ₹25,976 crore, Vodafone Idea has a balance of ₹50,339 crore.

The Supreme Court delivered the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case verdict today, directing Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom companies to pay their dues over a 10-year period.

Here’s what the annual outflow for Vodafone Idea and Airtel looks like for a 10-year repayment timeline:

Note: These are annual cash flows

The Supreme Court has also directed the telecom companies to pay up to 10% of their AGR dues by March 31, 2021. The balance payments will need to be made annually thereafter by February 7th of every year, in equal instalments.


Immediately after the AGR verdict, Airtel’s share price jumped by over 5%, signalling that investors are confident about the company’s future.

On the other hand, Vodafone Idea’s share price plunged by nearly 15%.

Vodafone Idea stares at a big setback

According to brokerage firm Motilal Oswal, a smaller repayment timeline will be a big setback for Vodafone Idea which is battling for its survival.

“This is a big setback, especially for Vodafone Idea (VIL), which is under dire liquidity stress. A lower payment tenure may put pressure on VIL’s cash flows,” the firm said in its latest report.


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