Telecom services are set to become costlier under the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime with the government placing them under the 18 per cent rate.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitey today notified after the GST Council meeting in Srinagar that telecom and financial services will be taxed at a standard rate of 18 per cent.
Debt ridden telecom players, looking for a bail out package, expressed disappointment with the rate saying telecom services will become expensive for consumers and impact the government project like digital India and digital payments.At present, telecom consumers are charged 15 per cent in form of tax and cess over their phone bills.
Mobile industry body COAIs Director General Rajan S Mathews said in a statement to PTI, “This is also likely slow down the planned rollout of infrastructure across the country and will have an impact on flagship govt initiatives like digital India, cashless India and others”.
The Cellular Operators Associations of India (COAI) said that the telecom sector pays around 30 per cent of its earnings in taxes and levies, including spectrum usage charge and licence fees.
By Baishakhi Dutta
