New Delhi: Debt-ridden Vodafone Idea has approached the Department of Telecom seeking a waiver of a financial bank guarantee worth Rs 24,747 crore for spectrum payment due in September 2025, sources said.
Vodafone Idea (VIL) needs to securitize the annual fee one year before the payment due date.
“Vodafone Idea has approached the Transport Department for a waiver of financial bank guarantee (FBG) worth Rs 24,747 crore due by September 2025. The FBG has to be deposited one year before the date. under the spectrum auction rules," said a source who did not want to be identified.
An email query sent to Vodafone Idea did not elicit a response.
The payments are for frequencies that VIL purchased in auctions held before 2022. In 2022, VIL opted for a four-year moratorium on paying for spectrum permitted under a government aid package.
The moratorium period on spectrum payment obligations related to spectrum auctions carried out until 2016 ends between October 2025 and September 2026.
The company also opted for a moratorium on AGR payments. The moratorium ends in March 2026.
VIL is required to provide bank guarantees at least 13 months before the relevant moratorium period expires.
The company has cited relief based on the 2022 and 2024 spectrum auction rules in which the requirement to provide bank guarantees for annual dues has been removed.
VIL had outstanding dues of Rs 2,03,430 crore to the government as on March 31, 2024. The total outstanding includes deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,33,110 crore and an AGR (adjusted gross revenue) liability of Rs 70,320 crore. rupees.
By opting for the moratorium, VIL settled an interest liability of around Rs 16,000 crore on the deferred payment by offering shares in the company to the government.
The government's stake in VIL fell from about 33 percent in 2023 to 23.8 percent as of March 31, 2024, after the company raised Rs 18,000 crore through a follow-on public offering, Rs 7,000 million. rupees between March 2022 and May 2024 from the promoters. and issued preference shares to suppliers to settle their dues.
Vodafone Idea (VIL) needs to securitize the annual fee one year before the payment due date.
“Vodafone Idea has approached the Transport Department for a waiver of financial bank guarantee (FBG) worth Rs 24,747 crore due by September 2025. The FBG has to be deposited one year before the date. under the spectrum auction rules," said a source who did not want to be identified.
An email query sent to Vodafone Idea did not elicit a response.
The payments are for frequencies that VIL purchased in auctions held before 2022. In 2022, VIL opted for a four-year moratorium on paying for spectrum permitted under a government aid package.
The moratorium period on spectrum payment obligations related to spectrum auctions carried out until 2016 ends between October 2025 and September 2026.
The company also opted for a moratorium on AGR payments. The moratorium ends in March 2026.
VIL is required to provide bank guarantees at least 13 months before the relevant moratorium period expires.
The company has cited relief based on the 2022 and 2024 spectrum auction rules in which the requirement to provide bank guarantees for annual dues has been removed.
VIL had outstanding dues of Rs 2,03,430 crore to the government as on March 31, 2024. The total outstanding includes deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1,33,110 crore and an AGR (adjusted gross revenue) liability of Rs 70,320 crore. rupees.
By opting for the moratorium, VIL settled an interest liability of around Rs 16,000 crore on the deferred payment by offering shares in the company to the government.
The government's stake in VIL fell from about 33 percent in 2023 to 23.8 percent as of March 31, 2024, after the company raised Rs 18,000 crore through a follow-on public offering, Rs 7,000 million. rupees between March 2022 and May 2024 from the promoters. and issued preference shares to suppliers to settle their dues.
