The Supreme Court on Monday asked Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd (VMSL) to pay Rs. 2,000 crore to the union government in pursuance of a proposed merger of four entities into itself.
Vodafone India wants to merge Vodafone South, Vodafone East, Vodafone Digilink and Vodafone Cellular into VMSL as a precursor to what is expected to be one of the larger initial public offerings (IPO) in India.
The bench comprising justices R. Banumathi and J.S. Khehar said that the government will approve the merger as soon as the amount is paid.
Additional solicitor general P.S. Narasimha said the merger includes payment of a one-time spectrum charge, the spectrum usage charge and computation of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR).
However, Vodafone had challenged the demand notice in the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal. But, on March 4, Vodafone in a letter had agreed to pay Rs 1,773 crore to the government, provided the merger was approved by March 10.