Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea must pay $13bn after court order
Summary
MUMBAI (NewsRise) -- Indias Supreme Court rejected a plea by mobile phone operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea seeking a review of its previous order that ruled they must pay overdue levies and interest of almost $13 billion, dealing a setback to the cash-strapped companies. In October, the top court had upheld a demand by the countrys telecommunications department which has been at odds with the operators over the way the industry calculated the adjusted gross revenue. Several operators, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, had filed review petitions after the court ruling. Both Bharti and Vodafone Idea racked up combined losses worth $10 billion in the last quarter, after they set aside money to adhere to the court order. The ruling comes as the industry is barely recovering from a prolonged period of price competition triggered by the entry of billionaire Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Jio Infocomm more than three years ago.