licence fee: Telecom majors likely to plead for review of SC licence fee ruling
India's top telecom companies are likely to file a review petition against the Supreme Court's ruling that treats license fees as a capital expenditure. This could result in hefty retrospective demands and penalties for tax payment shortfalls in previous periods. Bharti Airtel could face a potential tax demand of Rs 6,000 crore for 2020-23, while Reliance Jio could face a demand of Rs 8,400 crore for 2017-2023. Sector experts believe that the burden will even out over the license period, with tax outgo declining in later years. Vodafone Idea's potential tax demand estimates were not available.