A government-commissioned audit of Indian operator Reliance Communications has found that the group under-reported its revenue and paid too little in license and spectrum fees.
Auditor Parakh and Co said Reliance reported two separate figures for FY08 revenue from wireless services to investors and to the government, the Financial Timesreported.
“Our report reveals that there has been under-reporting of revenue for the purpose of payment of revenue share, and underpayment of license fee and spectrum fees,” the executive summary of the report said.
Reliance told the stock market it had taken in 152 billion rupees ($3.28 billion) in wireless revenue, but only reported 129 billion rupees worth of revenue to the government.
The report, which has been sent to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for examination, is the first in a series of government audits being conducted on mobile operators. Further probes are being conducted on Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices.
Reliance denied any discrepancy in its accounts, accusing the auditor of bias.
Company sources added that Reliance is required only to report to the government that portion of its wireless revenue that influences its license or spectrum fees.