DoT to issue demand notices this week to 6 telcos for 2006-07

New Delhi: The Department of Telecom will issue this week the next lot of demand notices to six telecom operators for under-reporting of revenues in around 10 circles in 2006-07 year.

According to DoT sources, demand notice is likely to go to Bharti Hexacom for North East and Rajasthan circles, and to all other operators as well for the year 2006-07 for specific circles. The source, however, declined to quantify the exact amount it will entail.

Acting on the CAG report, which said six telcos under- reported Rs 46,045.75 crore of revenue between 2006-10 to cause a loss of Rs 12,488.93 crore to the exchequer, DoT started issuing year-wise notices to operators for specific circles to recover the dues.

Last week, the department issued over Rs 100-crore demand notices to six telecom operators - RCom, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Idea and Aircel - to recover the first tranche of the dues for the year 2008-09.

Sources said that DoT is proceeding year wise, and will issue notices pertaining to the dues for the year 2006-07, this week.

In all, notices will be sent to all six operators for 22 telecom circles in the country for four years. "We intend to look at all of these in a progressive manner," the source said.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in a report tabled in Parliament in March had said these six companies under-reported their adjusted gross revenue, leading to loss to the exchequer.

In early July, amid allegations and counter-allegations between BJP and Congress over delay in recovery of the dues, DoT came out with a statement saying that it had received the key documents scrutinised by the CAG in mid-June 2016.

"These are being vigorously examined and the process of issue of demands...In consonance with licence agreement is currently ongoing," DoT had then stated.

The demands raised from the exercise would be recovered with due interest and penalty as applicable under licence agreements, DoT had said.