Govt’s telecom receipts to be a quarter less than budgeted

The government will be able to collect around 27% less from the telecom sector than the Budget target of Rs 52,806.36 in the current fiscal because of its decision not to charge a fixed upfront payment from the operators for spectrum bought in the recently concluded 5G auctions. The other two reasons for lower collection will be the decision not to levy spectrum usage charge (SUC) on the spectrum bought in the auctions, and the four year moratorium for payment of deferred installments on spectrum bought in the previous auctions.