Following the Supreme Court’s order allowing Vodafone Idea’s AGR reassessment up to FY17, Bharti Airtel will now approach the government for similar relief. Gopal Vittal said the company seeks a fair, non-discriminatory review of its dues.
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel has announced that it will approach the government to seek a reassessment of its Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues, following the Supreme Court’s recent decision allowing Vodafone Idea to have its AGR dues reassessed up to the financial year 2016-17.
The company’s vice chairman and managing director, Gopal Vittal, said during an earnings call,
“We welcome the fact that the recent order of the Supreme Court permits the government to undertake a comprehensive assessment, reassessment and reconciliation of the AGR dues including interest and penalties up to the financial year 2016-17. The order has been made in the petition of Vodafone Idea. We are now planning to take up our matter with the government.”
The telecom operator believes that this move could open the door for a fair reassessment of its own dues, which have been a major financial burden for years. Vittal added that Airtel has always believed the 2019 Supreme Court judgment on AGR had deeply hurt the telecom industry.
He said,
“The company always maintained that the AGR judgement of 2019 was a ‘body blow’ to the industry. The fact that even errors of calculation were not entertained is even more disappointing.”
Following the news, Bharti Airtel’s shares saw a positive market response. The stock was trading at ₹2,108.80 on the National Stock Exchange in afternoon trading, up by 1.66%, even as the Nifty 50 benchmark index fell 0.65%.
Understanding AGR:
AGR, or Adjusted Gross Revenue, is the portion of a telecom company’s total revenue that is used to calculate its regulatory payments to the government. Telecom companies pay 8% of their AGR as a licence fee, which includes a 5% contribution to the Digital Bharat Nidhi fund.
The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that the government could reassess and reconsider Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues up to FY17, including interest and penalties. This order provided major relief to Vodafone Idea, which has been struggling with huge outstanding payments.
However, this benefit currently applies only to Vodafone Idea, as other telecom operators, including Airtel, did not file similar petitions with the Supreme Court on the additional AGR demands raised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for the same period.
Earlier this year, in April, Bharti Airtel had requested the DoT to convert its AGR dues of about ₹40,000 crore into equity. If approved, this would have given the government a 3-4% stake in the company.
However, in May, the Supreme Court had dismissed pleas by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Tata Teleservices seeking waivers on interest, penalties, and interest on penalties related to their AGR dues.
At that time, Vittal had emphasized Airtel’s demand for fair treatment, saying,
“We just wanted a non-discriminatory level-playing field in terms of an option to convert. Whether we will convert or not is a decision for the board to take… We wanted a clarification from the government whether we had the option or not.”
On the financial side, Bharti Airtel reported strong quarterly results for the September 2025 quarter, showing growth across multiple business segments. The telecom giant recorded a revenue of ₹52,145 crore, up 25.7% year-on-year and 5.4% from the previous quarter’s ₹49,463 crore.
The growth was largely driven by higher mobile data usage, an expanding subscriber base, and a rebound in its enterprise division, Airtel Business, after three quarters of decline.
The company also posted a significant improvement in profitability. Its net profit rose by 89% year-on-year to ₹6,792 crore, supported by reduced losses from associates and joint ventures.
A decline in finance costs also contributed to higher profits. Sequentially, the company’s profit increased 14.19% from ₹5,948 crore in the previous quarter.
Bharti Airtel’s latest decision to engage the government for AGR reassessment marks an important step towards ensuring parity within the telecom industry.
The move comes at a time when the sector is balancing regulatory obligations, financial pressures, and the demand for continued digital growth across India.
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