Vodafone Idea shares surged over 9% on Monday after the Supreme Court allowed the Central government to reconsider the telecom operator’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The stock rallied as much as 9.45% to ₹10.53 on the BSE following the SC ruling.
The Supreme Court noted that the matter falls under the policy domain of the Union government and saw no reason to prevent the Centre from reassessing the issue. In a significant relief for the financially strained telecom company, the apex court permitted the government to address Vodafone Idea’s grievances without judicial intervention. The hearing was deferred after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the government, requested more time, with Chief Justice B.R. Gavai directing Mehta to present a clear stance.
Vodafone Idea is challenging the DoT’s demand of ₹5,606 crore for FY 2016–17 and has sought a comprehensive reassessment under the ‘Deduction Verification Guidelines’ of February 2020. Earlier, the SC had rejected telecom companies’ requests for correction of AGR calculations and set a 10-year repayment schedule for dues totaling ₹93,520 crore. In 2021, non-telecom income was excluded from AGR, reducing financial pressure on operators. At 11:45 a.m., Vodafone Idea shares were trading 8.42% higher at ₹10.43.
