Bharti Airtel prepays ‘entire deferred liabilities’ of Rs 15,519 cr to DoT

Ne w Delhi : Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said that it has paid Rs 15,519 crore to the Department of Telecom as “prepayment” of the “entire deferred liabilities” pertaining to the spectrum acquired in auction in 2014.
In the 2014 auction, the telecom service provider had acquired 128.4 MHz spectrum at Rs 19,051 crore.
“These liabilities were due in annual instalments from FY27 to FY32 and carried an interest rate of 10 per cent (the highest rate amongst the deferred liabilities and borrowings) and an average residual life of seven plus years,” it said in a statement.
With the pre-payment of the liability, the company is estimated to have saved interest cost of at least Rs 3,400 crore over the residual life for fully substituted capital.
“The company welcomes the Department of Telecom’s decision giving the industry the flexibility to prepay their deferred liabilities anytime at their ‘NPV’ basis the interest rates specified for the respective auction.” Also, the flexibility to prepay the deferred liabilities allowed the licensees to efficiently plan and use their cash flows.