Technoglitch
Core Member
The Supreme Court on Monday asked Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd (VMSL) to pay just Rs.2,000 crore to the Union government in pursuance of a proposed merger of four entities into itself, a move that brings Vodafone India Ltd, India’s second largest communications services provider, a step closer to listing on the stock exchanges.
Vodafone India wants to merge Vodafone East, Vodafone Cellular, Vodafone South and Vodafone Digilink into VMSL as a precursor to what is expected to be one of the larger initial public offerings (IPO) in India.
VMSL is an arm of Vodafone India, which, in turn, is a unit of Vodafone Group plc.
The government approached the apex court after the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on 19 October allowed provisional merger of the permits from these four entities. A Vodafone spokesperson declined comment as the matter is in court.
Vodafone needed to pay Rs.6,678 crore to the government under various heads for the merger to go through, Narasimha said.
These heads include payment of a one-time spectrum charge, the spectrum usage charge and computation of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
Vodafone’s lawyer K.K. Venugopal said there was no movement of spectrum in these mergers. He said most of the amounts due claimed by the government were disputed and stayed by tribunals or courts.
Narasimha told the court that the government was willing to exclude the disputed amounts and quoted a sum ofRs.4,064 crore that the telco would have to pay.
Supreme Court asks Vodafone to pay govt just Rs2,000 crore for merger - Livemint
Vodafone India wants to merge Vodafone East, Vodafone Cellular, Vodafone South and Vodafone Digilink into VMSL as a precursor to what is expected to be one of the larger initial public offerings (IPO) in India.
VMSL is an arm of Vodafone India, which, in turn, is a unit of Vodafone Group plc.
The government approached the apex court after the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on 19 October allowed provisional merger of the permits from these four entities. A Vodafone spokesperson declined comment as the matter is in court.
Vodafone needed to pay Rs.6,678 crore to the government under various heads for the merger to go through, Narasimha said.
These heads include payment of a one-time spectrum charge, the spectrum usage charge and computation of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
Vodafone’s lawyer K.K. Venugopal said there was no movement of spectrum in these mergers. He said most of the amounts due claimed by the government were disputed and stayed by tribunals or courts.
Narasimha told the court that the government was willing to exclude the disputed amounts and quoted a sum ofRs.4,064 crore that the telco would have to pay.
Supreme Court asks Vodafone to pay govt just Rs2,000 crore for merger - Livemint
