Reliance Communications (RCom) settled its row with Ericsson, paying INR4.6 billion ($67.4 million) covering service charges to the Swedish vendor following a drawn-out court battle.

An Ericsson representative said the operator made the payment, ahead of a deadline of tomorrow (19 March), which was set by the Supreme Court late last month.

The row with Ericsson has been ongoing since 2018, with the vendor seeking payment for a deal it struck with the Indian operator in 2014 to manage and operate its network. RCom missed several deadlines to make the payment, which resulted in Supreme Court action.

In February, the situation escalated as India’s Supreme Court found RCom and its chairman Anil Ambani guilty of contempt of court, ordering payment must be made in four weeks.

It said Ambani would face a three-month jail term if it did not comply.

Troubled RCom commenced insolvency proceedings in January after failing to sell assets to Reliance Jio.

Its payment was made despite the operator being dealt another blow over the weekend, as a tribunal refused to release a tax refund owed to it.

The Economic Times reported that the tribunal refused to direct State Bank of India (SBI) and other lenders to release INR2.6 billion in tax refunds, which is held in a trust fund.