Telcos seek lower levies, taxes in upcoming Budget

MUMBAI: Mobile phone service providers have sought a reduction in licence fees, removal of goods and services tax on those fees, spectrum acquisition charges and spectrum usage charges, besides a refund of input tax credits along with tax and custom duty exemptions in the upcoming budget.

“In this challenging time, the industry also faces major upcoming expenses on infrastructure upgradation like spectrum auction, 5G introduction, network expansion and fiberisation, which is very critical for providing future communication services,” SP Kochhar, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, said in a statement detailing the sector’s budget recommendations.

According to the association, which represents Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi), the relaxation of certain levies is critical for a sector that contributes Rs 58,000 crore annually to the government exchequer and has invested Rs 11.24 lakh crore till date.