I have been closely monitoring the AGR dispute for several years. No doubt it has unfolded as an extraordinarily perplexing situation. The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) has submitted a preliminary assessment to the court, demanding an amount that can only be described as exorbitant when compared to the operators’ self-assessment figures. You can find these details in my previous article from March 16, 2020, titled ‘DoT AGR Demand – Operator Impact.’ In this context, I’m delving into an examination of the rationality of these figures. The stark disparity between the DOT’s preliminary assessment and the operators’ numbers raises questions about their validity. Is there a means to conduct a swift sanity check without delving into the intricate calculations? Let’s explore.
The Estimation Methodology
To verify the reasonableness of the operator’s self-assessment numbers and ensure they fall within an acceptable range, I’m using TRAI’s Financial Reports as a benchmark. TRAI provides quarterly snapshots of the operator’s Gross Revenue (GR), Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), and License and Spectrum Fees paid to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
