The Hindu Business Line : Supreme Court asks Tata Tele, RCom to pay Rs 700 cr to BSNL

New Delhi, April 30 In a blow to Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications, the Supreme Court has asked the two companies to pay up Rs 700 crore to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd as access deficit charges on limited mobile phones.

The two companies had argued that since limited mobile phones were being provided under the fixed line telephone licence, they were not liable to pay the charges to BSNL.

However, the apex court has upheld the order given by the telecom tribunal in 2005 that limited mobile phones could not be treated as fixed line phones and is a wireless mobile service and, therefore, the companies will have to pay the charges.

Though ADC has been abolished now, in 2005 the Government had said that fixed line service providers need not pay the charges. Following the court’s order, the two companies have to pay the outstanding charges to BSNL for the past few years. ADC was a levy imposed on private operators for funding BSNL’s rural telephone schemes.

A bench headed by Mr Justice H. S. Kapadia dismissed Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications’ petitions challenging the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s order, which held that its fixed wireless telephone was equivalent to mobile service and thus Reliance was liable to pay ADC of over Rs 400 crore. The Tatas will have to cough up Rs 300 crore.

“We are yet to receive a copy of the said court order and await the same. As the matter involves the Supreme Court, we would not like to comment further until we receive this order and study it at length,” a spokesperson for Tata Teleservices Ltd said.

Reliance Communications said that the ruling will not put any additional burden on the company. “The case pertains to the period 2002-03, prior to the reorganisation of Reliance Communications and has been fully provided for in the previous fiscals. There is no additional liability on the company following the judgment,” a company spokesperson said.

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