FAQs About AGR Filing
Q1. What is an Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)?
A. AGR or Adjusted Gross Revenue refers to one variable used to calculate the license fee submitted to CCA by the Telecom license holders.
Q2. What is referred to as an AGR filing?
A. The term AGR filing refers to the submission of AGR statements (license fee and revenue statement) to the CCA – Controller of Communication of Accounts by the telecom license holders of India.
Q3. What changed with the concept of AGR filing in India?
A. When the telecom sector started to hit its stride back in the late 90s, the Government started to liberalize - made certain incentives - in the National Telecom Policy. The new incentives were an attempt to pave the way for more telecom companies to enter the market and participate in the industry's growth. Those incentives came in the form of a revenue-sharing model. Previously, the telecom companies had to pay a fixed license fee depending upon their size. Now, as per the new norms, the Government has come up with another solution: Adjusted Gross Revenue.
Q4. How has the UL licensed agreement defined the Adjusted Gross Revenue?
A. According to Chapter III – Financial Conditions of Part I in the schedule to the UL (VNO)Agreement, in addition to the entry fee, the annual license fee & spectrum usage charges (SUC) have to be paid as a percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue by the license holder as per their service area.
Q5. What is the eligibility regarding filing an AGR to the Telecom Authority?
A. Any license holder who has been granted a telecom license as per Section 4 of the National Telegraph Act has to submit the License fee and revenue statement (collectively known as AGR statements) to the Communication Controller of Accounts of DOT. The license fee is 8% of the adjusted gross revenue and includes USO Levy, which is currently 5% of AGR.
Q6. What was the issue with the AGR filing in India right now?
A. There was a dispute between the telecom companies and the Government about the definition of AGR. As a result, massive AGR dues were calculated from the Government's side that big telecom companies refused to pay. The Government was complacent about this issue earlier.
Q7. What steps have been taken by the Government to compel the Telcos to file their AGRs?
A. The Government has now taken a hard line about the AGR dues. An AGR judgement passed recently made it mandatory for the telecom companies to pay their AGR dues as per the prescribed deadline.
Q8. Which telecom license holders are compliant with submitting their AGR statements to the DoT in India?
A. Any license holder who has been granted a license under the UL (Unified License) Chapter by the Department of Telecommunication has to file AGR returns. Following are the example of the said licenses
- Unified License Virtual Network Operator (UL-VNO) License
- Unified License Internet Service Provider (ISP) License
- Unified License ACS Category B License
- National Long Distance (NLD) License
- International Long Distance (ILD) License
Q9. What documents are required for the submission of AGR statements in India?
A. The license holders must submit the following document while they file their AGR dues with the DoT:
- Statement of Revenue
- Audit Report
- Books of Accounts
- Copy of the Telecom License you have
Q10. What is the defined procedure for filing the AGR dues to the Telecom Authority in India?
A. The process of filing adjusted gross revenue telecom hinges on the calculation of the said revenue. Thus, the steps are as follows:
- Navigate to the SARAS website
- File the AGR return
- Upload the mandatory documents
- take a printout of the said documents and the filed return
- Deposit the above to the Department of Telecommunication
- Get the receipt
Q11. How can Registrationwala help you in filing your AGR statements?
A. As you've seen, the process of AFR filing is needlessly complicated. That's why you must let Registrationwala take this task off your hands. Let us file your AGR dues.
- We will calculate your AGR dues
- We will file your return
- We will submit the documents to the DOT
- We will follow up with the DOT to deal with any issues
- And finally, we will deliver you the final report.