DoT set to conduct "Special Audits" of the accounts of private telecom companies.

It is reported that the DoT is set to conduct “special audits” of the accounts of the private telecom companies for the period from 2011-2012 onwards. It is a well known fact that private telecom companies continuously cheat the government of Annual Licence Fee and Spectrum Usage Charges, by understating their revenue. It is reported that the Annual Licence Fee and Spectrum Usage Charges, paid to the government, got reduced by 23% in 2017. In view of this, the DoT has decided to conduct Special Audits of the accounts of all the private telecom companies. It is noteworthy to mention that the DoT conducted a Special Audit for the years 2006 to 2008 and found out that the private companies had cheated the government an amount Rs.1,846.51 crore. Thereafter, the CAG conducted a Special Audit for the period from 2007 to 2010, wherein it was founded that the private companies had cheated the government an amount of Rs.12,488.93 crore.

(Source: Economic Times dated 25.09.2018)