Some vendors of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) are planning to move insolvency pleas against the two operators for non-payment of their dues.
As per PHD Chamber of Commerce, the telcos have dues pending against the supply of telecom gear and other goods to BSNL and MTNL as well as Rs 450 billion BharatNet project.
The total pending payments of the vendors are estimated to be around Rs 200 billion. As per the vendors, banks have started putting pressure on vendors to clear dues and they plan to stage a protest on November 19, 2019. Further, vendors have stated that if the payments are not made within 10 days, thereafter, they might approach the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for liquidation of BSNL and MTNL.
Recently, the Telecom Export Promotion Council (TEPC) had written to the administrator of Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) to pay long-pending dues of around Rs 2 billion to various vendors.
These vendors include Sterlite Technologies (Rs 5 billion dues), Tejas Networks (Rs 3.14 billion), HFCL (Rs 2.19 billion), Paramount Wires and Cables (Rs 1.68 billion), VNL (Rs 1.50 billion).
In a letter to the telecom minister, Paramount has stated that its bankers are pressuring the company to clear their dues at the earliest. Further, the company has stated that its plant has remained mostly shut, since it does not have funds to buy raw materials. Moreover, its creditors are refusing to supply even at high prices while its staff and worker salaries have not been paid for the last two months.
