The government panel constituted for suggesting measures for providing financial relief to the telecom sector is looking at a repayment period of 20 years for payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues with a possible initial moratorium based on the net present value (NPV) method.

The panel will also consider reducing the total incidence of taxation and separately reach out to the regulator to consider some floor on tariffs.

The government may not even need to waive interest and penalty on AGR dues adding up to Rs 1.3 trillion in case of a long payback period. However, the issue is currently being discussed.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will together need to pay about Rs 800 billion towards AGR dues.