Crisil has downgraded its rating on Vodafone Idea's (erstwhile Vodafone Mobile Services) non-convertible debentures (NCD) of Rs 3,500 crore from BB to B+ .

The downgrade from the ratings agency came as there was low possibility of any relief from the government as the Supreme Court on February 14 refused to grant any relief on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the telecom companies, the telecom company said in a filing to the exchanges on Thursday.

“As per the rating rationale published on the website, the downgrade is in view of lower likelihood of any relief from Government of India after the Supreme Court on February 14, 2020, did not grant any relief in respect to the modification request filed by the telcom companies, including VIL and also has directed the telcos to make the payment before the next hearing on March 17, 2020," the company said.

According to an IANS report, Vodafone Idea paid Rs 1,000 crore on Thursday as it had committed earlier to pay this amount by Friday. The company had also paid Rs 2,500 crore towards AGR dues on Monday.

Crisil and India Ratings and Research had also downgraded Vodafone Idea NCDs last month. Crisil had downgraded BB from BBB, while India Ratings had downgraded long-term rating to BBB- from BBB.

Earlier, the apex court had pulled telecom companies like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea as well as the government for non-payment of dues in time.

First Published:Feb 20, 2020 6:32 PM IST