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Bharti Airtel has offered to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20. The rest of the amount will be paid before the next date of hearing in the Supreme Court, the company said in a letter. The telecom company's offer came after the DoT ordered to clear the dues by 11.59 pm today.
In an ultimatum on Friday, the Department of Telecommunications asked firms including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear dues before Friday midnight. The directive came after the DoT faced the ire of the Supreme Court for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom companies, started issuing circle or zone-wise demand notices to firms. According to the DoT order, telcos will have to clear dues by 11.59 pm today.
Expressing its anguish, the Supreme Court on Friday asked if there was no law left in the country, as it directed the top echelons of telecom firms to explain why contempt action should not be taken against them for non-compliance of its order to pay adjusted gross revenue of Rs 1.47 lakh crore to the Telecom department. Taking strong note over the non-compliance of its order, the apex court expressed its displeasure over an order passed by the Department of Telecom's desk officer staying the effect of its verdict in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter.
ALSO READ | Ultimatum for Telcos: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea asked to clear dues by 11.59 pm today
