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Vodafone Idea Pays Rs 3,043 Crore Towards Deferred Spectrum Dues: Sources

This is the last lot of payments Vodafone Idea will make towards deferred spectrum dues as a two-year moratorium kicks in now.

A customer exits a Vodafone Idea Ltd. store in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)  
A customer exits a Vodafone Idea Ltd. store in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)  

Troubled operator Vodafone Idea Ltd. has paid Rs 3,043 crore more to the Department of Telecommunications towards deferred spectrum liability, sources said Tuesday.

Deferred spectrum dues are essentially instalment payments that are made by telcos for airwaves bought in past auctions.

The move assumes significance as Vodafone Idea has been under financial pressure and is confronted with AGR dues of over Rs 53,000 crore. It has so far paid Rs 3,500 crore in two tranches towards its liabilities.

The DoT sources confirmed that the company has made the payment of around Rs 3,043 crore towards deferred spectrum liability.

This is the last lot of payments that telecom firms will make towards deferred spectrum liabilities, as the Union Cabinet had late last year approved a two-year moratorium on such spectrum payment dues.