- (1.) Pursuant to a tender notice issued on 16-1-1995, the appellants granted licences to various cellular operators on terms and conditions mentioned therein. The License Agreement provided that the licencee has to pay the prescribed fee in advance in terms of Schedule B thereof and the period of licence was initially for 10 years. The licensee was obliged to install and run the system within 12 months of the effective date which is defined in the licence. The Agreement also provided that in case of failure to pay the licence fee within the prescribed time interest shall be charged on the amount due at certain rate.
(2.) The New Telecom Policy 1999 (NTP-99) was thereafter introduced which was known as 'migration package' and was offered to various licensees as set out in their letter dated 22-7-1999 which was accepted unconditionally by the members of respondent No.1 and other licensees on 26-7-1999. In the NTP, under the migration package it was stated that the effective date is postponed by about six months for payment of licence fee. Demands were raised on the basis that modified effective date is applicable only to licence fee and not to interest that had already accrued. The amounts were also paid by the cellular operators as demanded. Thereafter several representations were made stating that the charging of interest is not permissible as licence fee had not become due in view of the notional extension of the effective date. However, the appellants having stuck to their stand as set out in their demand, the respondent filed a petition on 26-6-2001 before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal') challenging, inter alia, the demand of interest without making any adjustment on account of notional extension of the effective date by the six months. The Tribunal accepted the stand of the cellular operators and directed the appellants to modify their demand subject to certain other incidental directions. This order is in challenge before us.
(3.) Schedule B to the License Agreement provides for definition, interpretation and transitional provisions relating to the conditions. Clause 1(J) defines 'effective date' as under : 'Effective date' is the date by which the licensing agreement comes into effect and the "effective date" is reckoned with effect from the date the license agreement is signed after payment of appropriate component of licence fee. In the present case, the effective date is 12-12-1995 which stood extended to 12-6-1996.;