The government has amended the rules for overseas borrowing for successful bidders at the upcoming 3G spectrum auctions.
According to the revision, the bidders will be allowed to pay the spectrum fee in rupees, and refinance the rupee resources with a long-term overseas loan within 12 months of making the final payment to the government. The change has been enacted to facilitate fund-raising. The bidders are required to pay 25 per cent of the bid amount within five days of the auction’s close, while the remaining is payable within 15 days. The government had earlier permitted telecom firms to pay for spectrum allocation via the external commercial borrowing route.
