Telecom operators urge Centre to replace all taxes with 6%
Published on Thu, May 31, 2007 at 08:59 | Source : Moneycontrol.com
Updated at Fri, Jun 01, 2007 at 13:14
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Telecom operators urge Centre to replace all taxes with 6%
Telecom operators have urged the Department of Telecom to bring down all levies imposed by the Central Government on the operators to six per cent of their annual revenues.
Telecom operators have urged the Department of Telecom to bring down all levies imposed by the Central Government on the operators to six per cent of their annual revenues.
In a meeting with the Department of Telecom, both GSM and CDMA operators gave a joint presentation highlighting the huge burden on the industry. This comes even as the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, recently said that the Government was committed to introduce a single levy on telecom operators.
Licence fees
Currently, telecom operators pay between six and 10 per cent of their annual revenues as licence fees. Then they also pay spectrum charges, service tax and other local taxes such as octroi and stamp duties to various State Governments.
While the levies charged by the State Government may not be tampered with, the operators said that all levies and duties being charged by the Central Government should be replaced with a single levy that is not more than six per cent of their annual revenues.
In a meeting with the Department of Telecom, both GSM and CDMA operators gave a joint presentation highlighting the huge burden on the industry. This comes even as the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, recently said that the Government was committed to introduce a single levy on telecom operators. 
