Giving a major relief to Reliance Communications (RCOM), the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Tuesday directed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to release the bank guarantee of Rs 2,000 crore given by RCOM under protest in 2016 to secure the payment of one-time spectrum charges (OTSC) in relation to liberalisation of its 800 MHz spectrum.
Apart from the cash payment of Rs 6,600 crore, RCOM had also given this Rs 2,000 crore bank guarantee under protest, as it had been demanded by DoT, and then challenged the demand before TDSAT, according to sources.
The TDSAT order will reduce non-funded exposure of banks by Rs 2,000 crore and help in accelerating RCOM's asset monetisation programme for Rs 25,000 crore, as was announced earlier.
--IANS
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