New Delhi: Another big and relief news has come from the Central Government for the telecom giant Vodafone-Idea (Vi), which is struggling with huge debt and financial crisis. According to government sources, the deadline for reassessment of AGR dues of Vodafone-Idea has been extended. Now the final settlement of the company’s dues and liabilities is expected to be completed by June.

Earlier, the target to complete this work was set by March 31, but now it has been extended by three months. This has given the company some more time to manage its financial position.

Why was the deadline extended and what is going on inside?

Sources in the Department of Telecom (DoT) said that the ‘Controller of Communication Accounts’ has re-evaluated the internal license fee. Currently, the work of review of Spectrum Usage Charge (SUC) is going on. Since a lot of nuances are involved in this entire process, the government has shifted its deadline to June out of caution. This is like a big oxygen for Vodafone-Idea, which has recently received many reliefs from the government.

After all, how much is the burden of AGR?

Vodafone-Idea has a heavy burden of AGR dues. The Union Cabinet had given major relief to the company on the basis of the Supreme Court order. The company’s AGR dues have been ‘frozen’ at Rs 87,695 crore for the period from financial years 2006-07 to 2018-19.

However, this amount is not final and may change after re-assessment. It is worth noting that this does not include the dues of 2017-18 and 2018-19, which were finalized by the court in 2020 itself and which are to be paid as per the prescribed rules.

Government’s reply and special committee in Parliament

In February this year, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Shekhar had clarified the government’s stand on this issue in the Lok Sabha. He had told that the AGR dues that have been ‘frozen’ till December 31, 2025 will be re-evaluated based on the guidelines of the Telecom Department.

To make this process transparent, a special committee has been constituted on January 30, 2026. This high-level committee will include a retired officer of the level of Secretary to the Government and a representative of CAG. This committee will submit its report within two months and whatever its decision is, it will be final and binding on both the government and Vodafone-Idea. That is, by June it will be clear how much amount the company actually has to pay.