The Supreme Court of India rejected petitions by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to recalculate their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) levies, arguing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) made errors when determining the figures.

In a stock market filing, Vodafone Idea stated the court dismissed calls made by it and other operators.

Following a review, the court stated no case had been made “within the parameters indicated in the decision”.

It turned down operators’ calls to correct AGR calculations, reduce the penalty and adjust the interest rate.

The Economic Times (ET) reported Vodafone Idea and Airtel “sought to allow correction of manifest/clerical and arithmetical errors” in the demands raised by the DoT.

Vodafone Idea and Airtel argued nearly 75 per cent of the total owed comprised interest, penalties and interest on penalties, ET stated.

Analysts at analytics company ICRA told Reuters Indian operators owe around INR1 trillion ($12 billion) in past dues in total.