Telcos in CAG coverage area, mega scam may be revealed

The Delhi high court ruling on Monday permitting the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) to audit telecom companies has the potential to open up yet another massive scandal, according to indications available from limited official audits done in the past.

According to sources, private auditors appointed by the department of telecommunications had audited five telecom companies in the financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08. The five operators — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices and Idea Cellular — together understated their revenues by Rs 10,268 crore during these two years. Based on the findings of the audit in mid-2012, DoT had slapped penalties totaling Rs 1,594 crore on the five