India’s mobile operators face $13b in charges after court ruling

India’s top court on Thursday upheld a demand by the country’s telecoms department that wireless carriers pay 920 billion rupees ($12.97 billion) in overdue levies and interest, sending their shares tumbling.

Telecom providers in India pay the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) nearly 3-5 percent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in usage charges for spectrum or airwaves and 8 percent of AGR as licence fees. The DoT and the mobile carriers have been at odds over the definition of AGR.

The companies argue that AGR should comprise just revenue accrued from core services, while the DoT says AGR should include all revenue.

After the court decision, shares in Bharti Airtel dropped as much as 9.7 percent, while Vodafone Idea fell as much as 23 percent. Bharti Airtel expressed its disappointment at the order.

“This decision has come at a time when the (telecoms) sector is facing severe financial stress and may further weaken the viability of the sector as a whole,” Airtel said in a statement. The company also said New Delhi needed to find a way to reduce the burden on the industry.

Vodafone Idea did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

India’s crowded telecoms sector once had more than a dozen mobile operators but operating costs and their own inefficiencies has led to consolidation.