New Delhi: Vodafone Idea and Tata Group have made part payment of about Rs 2,500 crore and over Rs 2,190 crore, respectively, to the telecom department towards statutory dues, a government official said on Monday.
The official source privy to the development said that while VIL has made payment of Rs 2,500 crore, Tata Group has paid over Rs 2,190 crore.
With the government coming down heavily on telcos after the Supreme Court's rap, Bharti Airtel on Monday made payment of Rs 10,000 crore to the Department of Telecommunications towards statutory dues.
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The company said it will make payment on balance amount after self-assessment exercise.
"The amount of Rs 10,000 crore has been paid on behalf of Bharti Airtel, Bharti Hexacom, and Telenor," the Sunil Mittal led company said in a letter to the DoT earlier today.
The telecom department officials will meet on Tuesday to discuss whether or not the bank guarantees should be encashed, as none of the telcos have paid the full payment.
Sources said that the option of encashment of bank guarantees is being considered and that "nothing is off the table". A decision on the matter may be taken on Tuesday, the source added.
Meanwhile, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said he believes non-telecom PSUs are not covered by the Supreme Court order that asked telecom licence holders to pay statutory dues after including non-telecom revenues.
(PTI Report)
