Vodafone Idea has deferred payment of dues worth ₹8,837 crore by four years on account of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) it owes to the Centre. This is in addition to the moratorium the operator received as part of the telecom bailout package announced by the Cabinet last year.

Under the telecom package, Vodafone Idea has got a moratorium on the AGR dues pending up to FY17. The additional deferment is for AGR dues up to FY19. “ The Department of Telecom ( DoT) has offered a moratorium of four years (on an NPV protected basis) for all AGR-related dues up to FY19 which were not included in the Supreme Court order dated 1st September 2020, which can be exercised within a period of 15 days, i.e. by June 30, 2022.”

“The said DoT letter also provides the company an option for equity conversion of interest dues upfront for these AGR-related dues for which a period of 90 days has been provided,” Vodafone Idea said in a communication to the stock exchange.

The cash-strapped operator said that it has exercised the option of deferment of the AGR-related dues for a period of four years with immediate effect. The dues will be subsequently paid from March 2026 onwards in 6 instalments. The company has not currently exercised the conversion to equity exercise on these dues yet.

This amount is in addition to the payments already deferred by Vodafone Idea on spectrum and AGR dues amounting to ₹92,000 crore. Vodafone Idea exercised this option last year and got a 4 year moratorium, in addition to which it also asked the government to convert interest pending on these payments into equity as part of the Cabinet’s bailout proposals.