No refund to Bharti: TDSAT

In a major setback to the leading telecom giant, telecom tribunal TDSAT on Wednesday dismissed Bharti's petition for refund of Rs 135 crore (Rs 1.35 billion) paid by it as licence fees for entry into basic services prior to the new uniform licencing regime introduced by the government.

Bharti had moved Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal last month after its plea was rejected by the department of telecom saying the entry fee was non-refundable.

Asked whether the company would challenge TDSAT's ruling in the Supreme Court, Bharti spokesperson told PTI "We are studying the judgement. After consulting with the legal experts, we will decide the future course of action."

"Because of regulatory changes, our basic telecom licences have become redundant and therefore we are seeking refund of the entry fee paid by the company," Bharti had said while moving the TDSAT.

The government had approved the policy of Unified Access Service licence as per decision of the Cabinet in October, 2003.

The detailed guidelines envisaged "voluntary" migration of the existing Basic and Cellular Service Providers to UAS regime, DoT had said.

"The government has already taken a decision that since the entry fee was non-refundable, there is no case for any refund of it as well as any compensation for change of policy which is a prerogative of the government," DoT had argued.