Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 15: The Supreme Court will on Friday, September 19, hear Vodafone Idea Ltd’s petition seeking to quash additional adjusted gross revenue (AGR) demands for the period up to 2016–17.

The company has urged the apex court to direct the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to comprehensively re-assess and reconcile all AGR dues in line with the Deduction Verification Guidelines issued on February 3, 2020. Vodafone Idea moved the court last week requesting an early hearing.

In May, the Supreme Court refused to review its 2021 order rejecting telecom operators’ pleas to rectify alleged arithmetical and duplication errors in AGR calculations. Earlier, in September 2020, the court had allowed telecom firms 10 years to clear Rs 93,520 crore in AGR-related dues.

The long-running AGR dispute stems from a 2019 Supreme Court ruling upholding the government’s broader definition of revenue, including non-core income, sharply increasing liabilities for telecom companies.

Vodafone Idea currently owes over Rs 83,000 crore in AGR dues and is seeking a waiver of about Rs 45,000 crore. The government became the company’s largest shareholder after acquiring shares worth Rs 36,950 crore in March 2025, following an earlier 33% stake purchase in 2023 against statutory dues of over Rs 16,000 crore.