Lok Sabha Question No. 3778 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Revenue Sharing with Telecom Operators
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3778 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11 TH   DECEMBER, 2019

## REVENUE SHARING WITH TELECOM OPERATORS

## 3778. SHRI LAVU SRI KRISHNA DEVARAYALU:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government did not collect money from telecom companies since 2003 inspite of the word 'gross revenue' clearly defined in the contract and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (b) the contentions of the telecom companies in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court on Adjust Gross Revenue (AGR);
- (c) the  telecom  operators  which  have  gained  from  the  revenue-sharing  model  since  2003, company-wise details thereof; and
- (d) the impact of the aforesaid judgement of the Supreme Court on the telecom sector?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

- (a) The dispute regarding what constitutes the definition of 'Gross Revenue' as provided in the license agreement was subjudice before the Ld. Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal and Hon'ble Supreme Court since 2003. The TDSAT in a number of cases had stayed the recovery of demands  by  DoT.  The  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  also  vide  its  interim  order  dated  29-02-2016  had allowed the Department of Telecom to raise the demands as per its understanding without enforcing them.  The  licensees  of  the  Department  of  Telecom  were  making  payments  based  on  their  own understanding.
- (b) The  Cellular  Operators  Association  of  India  vide  their  letter  dated  29.10.2019  has  sought urgent intervention of the Government to avert such an unprecedented impact on the financial health of their member companies. However, one of the members of the Cellular Operators Association of India i.e. Reliance  Jio Infocom Ltd has submitted a divergent opinion on the said matter.

(c) The  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  in  their  judgment  dated  24-10-2019  have  observed  that  the revenue  sharing  package  turned  out  to  be  very  very  beneficial  to  the  Telecom  Service  Providers, which is evident from the continuing rise in the Gross Revenue which is as follows:

|   Financial Year (ending in March) | Gross Revenue (in Crore)   |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------|
|                               2004 | 4,855                      |
|                               2006 | 2,666                      |
|                               2007 | 89,108                     |
|                               2008 | 1,05,061                   |
|                               2009 | 1,43,044                   |
|                               2010 | 1,44,232                   |
|                               2011 | 1,60,251                   |
|                               2012 | 1,82,637                   |
|                               2013 | 2,04,221                   |
|                               2014 | 2,24,430                   |
|                               2015 | 2,37,676                   |

(d) The  Cellular  Operators  Association  of  India  vide  their  letter  dated  29.10.2019  has  sought urgent intervention of the Government to avert such an unprecedented impact on the financial health of their member companies. However, one of the members of the Cellular Operators Association of India i.e. Reliance Jio Infocom Ltd has submitted a divergent opinion on the said matter.

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