As per the CAG report, the DoT levied only ₹305.25 crore as License Fee (LF) on Tata Communications.
As per the CAG report, the DoT levied only ₹305.25 crore as License Fee (LF) on Tata Communications.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said in a report that Tata Communications reported gross revenue between 2006-07 and 2017-18, which led to a ₹645 crore shortfall in license fee.
The CAG also said in the report that the amount should be recovered from Tata Communications Limited (TCL).
“Audit scrutiny of the audited AGR statements with reference to the Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet in respect of NLD, ILD and ISP-IT licenses of TCL for the period 2006-07 to 2017-18 revealed that the Gross Revenue (Gr. ) ₹13,252.81 crore and consequently lower levy of LF ₹950.25 crore,” it said on Monday.
As per the CAG report, the DoT levied only ₹305.25 crore as License Fee (LF) on the company.
“After deducting DoT’s LF of 305.25 crore, there was a shortfall of ₹645 crore in the license fee demanded by DoT from TCL for the said period, which should be demanded and recovered,” the report said.
“Considering the minimum rate of 0.15% of AGR for spectrum fee, the estimated revenue on a very conservative basis was ₹67.53 crore for spectrum fee for a carrier of E and V bands and the annual expected revenue for a circle was ₹67.53 crore. 3.30 crore on the basis of average AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) reported by TSPs (Telecom Service Providers) for the year 2020-21 alone,” it added.
The E and V bands are expected to match the equivalent data transmission speed of optical fiber and are in high demand by telecom operators to accelerate the rollout of telecom services.
The CAG said that the estimated revenue due to delay in allocation of E and V band spectrum is “only an indicative figure and the expected actual revenue may be higher depending on the number of carriers and bandwidth allocated to the users”.
“A preliminary decision in consultation with TRAI on allocation/assignment of spectrum for microwave access and backhaul networks in E-band and V-band for DoT mobile communication, providing support to ISP service providers and effective roll out of 5G services may take,” the report said.
The cabinet in June approved partial allocation of spectrum in the E-band to telecom service providers to meet the backhaul demand of telecom operators.