Relief to Sistema Shyam: Supreme Court Refuses to Stay Telecom Tribunal Order
Sistema Shyam not required to pay Rs 3,500 crore as contiguity charges for now, Supreme Court says.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay a Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s order that struck down a Rs 3,500 crore spectrum reconfiguration levy on Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd.
The Department of Telecom challenged the telecom tribunal’s order in the apex court, seeking stay on the order that came as a relief to Sistem Shyam, the sole buyer of 800 MHz spectrum in the CDMA space.
The DoT had said that as per March 2015 spectrum auction rules, Sistema Shyam should pay the differential amount between March 2013 and 2015 to continue providing services in India.
Sistema Shyam was asked to pay Rs 3,500 crore to reconfigure its non-contiguous air waves to continuous spectrum to continue with services.
TDSAT struck down this order, saying the same rules need to be followed for all telecom companies and Sistema Shyam need not pay the amount levied by the DoT.
Contiguous spectrum in the 800 MHz band is efficient and essential for providing better 4G services.
The Supreme Court will hear the matter for further consideration on October 19.
