Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd, whose self-assessed dues to the Government are less than half of what the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) estimates, must disclose workings highlighting areas of difference as minority shareholders deserve to know, an analyst report said.
While Bharti Airtel has pegged its dues arising from a Supreme Court ruling that asked for non-telecom revenues to be included in calculating spectrum charges and licence fee at Rs 13,004 crore, the DoT puts the estimate at Rs 35,000 crore. In case of Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), the DoT is seeking over Rs 53,000 crore, while the company estimates its dues are Rs 21,533 crore.
“While we appreciate the matter is still sub judice, once the legal chapter is over, Bharti and VIL could (and should) disclose their self-assessment workings highlighting the areas of difference versus the DOT math. Even as this isn’t a statutorily mandated disclosure, we believe the minority shareholders deserve to know,” Kotak Institutional Equities said in a March 9 report.