NCLAT orders Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom to pay Rs 1,120 million to Aircel

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has directed Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom to pay Rs 1,120 million to Aircel.

The NCLAT order follows a plea moved by the resolution professional of Aircel and Dishnet Wireless.

On July 13, 2020, a three-member NCLAT bench set aside the order of the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which, on May 1, 2019 had granted a set-off of Rs 1,120 million to Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom in their Rs 4,530 millionspectrum trade agreement with Aircel and Dishnet Wireless. The Bharti Group entities had paid Rs 3,410 millionand retained Rs 1,120millionas a set off.

However, the appellate tribunal said both the companies are going through corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) and are under moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and any accounting conventions cannot supersede it.

In 2016, Aircel and Dishnet Wireless Limited had entered into a spectrum trade agreement with Bharti Group entities for a total consideration of Rs 4,530 million.