AGL 40.10 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.25%)
AIRLINK 127.65 Increased By ▲ 0.61 (0.48%)
BOP 6.69 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.3%)
CNERGY 4.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.44%)
DCL 8.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.58%)
DFML 41.80 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.87%)
DGKC 86.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-0.14%)
FCCL 32.09 Decreased By ▼ -0.19 (-0.59%)
FFBL 64.90 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (0.15%)
FFL 10.15 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-0.98%)
HUBC 109.58 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.01%)
HUMNL 14.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.34%)
KEL 5.12 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.39%)
KOSM 7.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.29 (-3.89%)
MLCF 41.35 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.07%)
NBP 59.90 Decreased By ▼ -0.51 (-0.84%)
OGDC 194.85 Increased By ▲ 4.75 (2.5%)
PAEL 28.35 Increased By ▲ 0.52 (1.87%)
PIBTL 7.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.10 (-1.28%)
PPL 151.50 Increased By ▲ 1.44 (0.96%)
PRL 26.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-1.15%)
PTC 16.09 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.12%)
SEARL 78.14 Decreased By ▼ -7.86 (-9.14%)
TELE 7.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.23 (-2.98%)
TOMCL 35.50 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.25%)
TPLP 8.13 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.12%)
TREET 16.10 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-1.89%)
TRG 52.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.49 (-0.92%)
UNITY 26.63 Increased By ▲ 0.47 (1.8%)
WTL 1.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.79%)
BR100 9,941 Increased By 57.3 (0.58%)
BR30 30,924 Increased By 324.3 (1.06%)
KSE100 93,822 Increased By 466.9 (0.5%)
KSE30 29,069 Increased By 137.9 (0.48%)
Technology Print 2020-02-15

Supreme Court orders Indian telcos to pay $13 billion or face action

India's Supreme Court on Friday ordered top telecom companies to pay $13 billion in unpaid spectrum and licensing fees by March 17 or face punishment in a fresh blow to ailing mobile carriers.
Published 15 Feb, 2020 12:00am

India's Supreme Court on Friday ordered top telecom companies to pay $13 billion in unpaid spectrum and licensing fees by March 17 or face punishment in a fresh blow to ailing mobile carriers.

Shares in Vodafone Idea, which said it would be hardest hit by the ruling, fell 23 percent on Mumbai's Sensex Index exchange after the court's announcement.

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio - owned by Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani - were also hit by the order, which comes after the companies failed to obey an October ruling demanding payment of overdue levies within three months. The court has threatened contempt proceedings against the companies and Department of Telecommunications government officials for non-compliance with that ruling.

The long-running row between the government and India's big telecoms has centred on how licence and other fees paid by the firms should be calculated. Companies argue they should be based on income from only their telecoms business, while the court ruled they should be calculated on the amount earned from all business dealings, including handset sales and other income.

On Friday the companies asked the court for more time to pay, which Justice Arun Mishra described as "complete nonsense".

Vodafone Idea, a joint venture of Britain's Vodafone Group and India's Idea Cellular will have to stump up about $3.9 billion.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2020

Comments

Comments are closed.