Six telcos underreported revenue by Rs 61,064.5 crore: CAG

Private telcos, including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, understated revenues to the extent of Rs 61,064.5 crore during 2010-11 and 2014-15, leading to a "short payment" of Rs 7,697.6 crore to the government, the CAG said today.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its latest report tabled in Parliament today, said its audit indicated "total understatement of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of Rs 61,064.56 crore" by six operators.

For five operators -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications and Aircel -- the period of audit pertains to 2010-11 to 2014-15.

On the other hand, for Sistema Shyam, the window in reference is 2006-07 to 2014-15.

The CAG report further pointed to a "consequent short payment of revenue share to the Government of India to the tune of Rs 7,697.62 crore".

"The interest due on short paid revenue share for the period up to March 2016 was Rs 4,531.62 crore," it added.