DoT demands Rs 13,613 crore from Power Grid as licence fee for four years

The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has raised a demand of Rs 13,613.66 crore as licence fee for years 2006-07 to 2009-10, said Power Grid.

“Department of Telecommunication vide its revised assessment order dated May 22, 2020 in respect of NLD (National Long Distance) licence for the FYs 2006-07 to 2009-10 has asked POWERGRID to pay Rs 13,613.66 crore on account of License Fee for the FYs 2006-07 to 2009-10, interest, penalty and interest on penalty,” a regulatory filing by the company said.

As per the ruling of Supreme Court in October last year, it allowed DoT to demand Rs 1.47 lakh crore in unpaid dues on licence fees and spectrum usage charges from telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.

The demand is related to a dispute which is 14 years old regarding the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), which the Supreme Court agreed should include all kinds of income generated by the telcos.

The DoT also raised a demand of over Rs 3 lakh crore from non-telecom PSUs like GAIL, Oil India and Power Grid. It is due to the telecom licences these firms had primarily acquired for internal communication purposes.

Power Grid holds NLD and Internet Service Provider (ISP) licences.