According to the CAG report, the Ministry of Telecommunications only levied ₹305.25 crore as license fee (LF) on Tata Communications.
According to the CAG report, the Ministry of Telecommunications only levied ₹305.25 crore as license fee (LF) on Tata Communications.
Tata Communications under-reported its gross revenue between 2006-07 and 2017-18, leading to a ₹645 crore drop in license fee levy during the period, the Comptroller and Auditor General of the State has said. India (CAG) in a report.
The CAG, in the report, also said the amount was to be recovered from Tata Communications Ltd (TCL).
“Careful review of AGR’s audited statements with reference to profit and loss statements and balance sheets for TCL’s NLD, ILD and ISP-IT licenses for the period 2006-07 to 2017-18 revealed that there was an under-declaration of Gross Income (GR) of ₹13,252.81 crore and consequent short levy of LF of ₹950.25 crore,” he said on Monday.
According to the CAG report, the Department of Telecommunications only levied ₹305.25 crore as license fee (LF) from the company.
“After deducting the DoT’s assessment of LF of ₹305.25 crore, the licensing fee demanded of TCL by the DoT was lower by ₹645 crore for the said period, which is to be demanded and recovered,” the report said. .
“Given the minimum AGR rate of 0.15% for spectrum fees, the estimated revenue lost on a very conservative basis was ₹67.53 crore for spectrum fees for an E and V band operator and the expected annual revenue lost was ₹3.30 crore for a circle only based on the average AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) reported by TSPs (Telecom Service Providers) for the year 2020-21″, he added.
The E and V bands are expected to correspond to a data transmission speed equivalent to optical fiber and are in high demand by telecommunications operators to accelerate the deployment of telecommunications services.
The CAG said the estimated revenue shortfall due to the delay in the allocation of E- and V-band spectrum is “only an indicative figure and the actual expected revenue could be higher depending on the number and the bandwidth of operators allocated to users”.
“The DoT can make a quick decision in consultation with TRAI on spectrum allocation/assignment for microwave access and backhaul network in E-band and V-band to provide support for mobile communications, to ISP service providers and for efficient deployment of 5G services,” the report said.
Cabinet in June approved a partial allocation of E-band spectrum to telecom service providers to meet backhaul demand from telecom operators.
