Airtel, Vodafone, and Jio have received bank guarantees of Rs 9,200 crore.
Official sources familiar with the development said the Department of Telecom (DoT) has released bank guarantees worth roughly Rs 9,200 crore that Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Reliance Jio had deposited for licence fees and spectrum usage costs. The move is part of the government’s reform package announced in September.
“Bharti Airtel has received a bank guarantee (BG) of roughly 4,000 crore, while Vodafone Idea has received a BG worth around 2,500 crore (VIL). Reliance Jio’s BG of roughly Rs. 2,700 crore was issued last month “PTI quoted a source as saying. Bharti Airtel, VIL, and Jio did not respond to emails sent to them.
In October, the Department of Transportation reduced telecom carriers’ performance and financial bank guarantee requirements by 80%. Telecom operators will be required to submit a performance BG of up to 44 crore for each service for the telecom licence under the modified rules, as opposed to the 220 crore needed under the previous rule.
Similarly, instead of the prior need of 44 crore, telecom operators would now be required to offer a financial BG of up to 8.8 crore each circle. The rules will not apply in circumstances where BGs are required by a court order or are in the middle of a legal battle, according to the licence amendment note.
The regulations will not apply to telecom companies that are currently in the process of being liquidated. The action will release telecom operators’ cash, which they store in banks to supply BGs.
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