Apex auditor CAG has slammed Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited for making tax payments in excess of the actual requirement for 2006-07, resulting in a loss of Rs 23.21 crore in interest income for the telecom PSU.

BSNL, which has posted a Rs 1,823 crore loss for the year 2009-10, paid advance tax of Rs 529 crore in excess of the actual requirement of Rs 995 crore, which resulted in a loss of interest, it said.

Audit scrutiny of the IT returns of BSNL for financial years 2004-05 to 2006-07 revealed that BSNL had been paying more than 47 per cent excess advance tax for three consecutive years, indicating a lack of proper planning and inadequate financial controls.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report said the management needs to ensure better management of its advance tax payments so that it does not exceed reasonable limits.

The CAG report has also rapped another telecom PSU, MTNL, for irregularities in one of its global tenders.

The CAG report said that MTNL failed to implement the policy formulated by the Prime Minister's office for promoting indigenous manufacturing of telecom equipment in the said tender. Furthermore, the company extended an undue benefit of Rs 16.18 crore to the selected vendor by waiving a penalty for non-performance, in contravention of the terms and conditions of the tender.

MTNL also failed to submit an undertaking to the DoT for clearing outstanding dues towards frequency use and spectrum charges, resulting in the non-issue of an ILD licence by the DoT. This resulted in the blocking of Rs 25 crore paid by MTNL for obtaining the licence and a consequent loss of interest of Rs 2.75 crore.

BSNL also incurred a loss of Rs 16.09 crore for continuing telecom facilities, despite non-payment of dues by subscribers in certain circles, it added.