Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd (GNFC) has received a demand notice from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) seeking telecom service dues of about Rs 15,019.97 crore.

The amount, which is inclusive of interest, is in connection with the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT, which is a two-way satellite ground station) and Internet Service Provider (ISP) licences held by the company in the Gujarat circle, GNFC said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.

This is for the financial years from 2005-06 to 2018-19, it said, adding the letter had directed the company to deposit the total outstanding amount before January 23, 2020.

GNFC is seeking legal advice, based on which it will decide on the future course of action, it added.

On October 24, the Supreme Court had upheld the Government’s plea to recover Adjusted Gross Revenues (AGR) of about Rs 92,000 crore from telecom service providers, a move that widened the operators’ losses.

The apex court had rejected claims made by the telecom operators on the grounds that the operators had agreed to pay revenue share on all income as part of a migration package in 1999.

For the second quarter ended September 30, Vodafone Idea recorded a loss of Rs 50,921 crore, the highest-ever loss for a corporate in India, on account of provisioning for AGR payouts, while rival Bharti Airtel posted its highest-ever net loss of Rs 23,045 crore for the period.

The telecom department is also seeking AGR dues from non-telecom companies – such as GAIL, Power Grid Corporation, Delhi Metro and RailTel, among others — who have been allotted telecom, VSAT and ISP licences.

Also read: We are expecting a final resolution on AGR this year, says Rajan S Mathews

Also read: Yet another tumultuous year ahead for telecom industry

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