Bharti, Vodafone get respite from Bombay HC

MUMBAI: Tele-operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar got respite after the Bombay High Court on Tuesday extended the stay on notices for payment of non-agricultural taxes.

The court had first stayed the notices issued by the Tahsildar of Thane in March and that stay was extended for six weeks. The stay has been extended to enable the Collector of Thane to conduct fresh hearing on the matter giving opportunity to telecom companies to represent their case.

The counsel for Vodafone, Punit Anand said it was mandatory on part of the Collector to give a hearing before passing an order on payment of taxes. The order, in turn, will be reviewed by the high court.

Division bench of Justices Bilal Nazki and S S Shinde was hearing petitions filed by the two companies challenging the notices issued in March by the Thane Tahsildar to pay Rs one lakh per Cellular Base Stations (network towers) erected on roof-tops of residential buildings, for not paying non-agricultural tax since 2005.

The operators have about 90 such network towers each in Thane region. The Tahsildar, in an affidavit filed before the court in April, stated that according to the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code (MLRC), non-agricultural tax had to be paid for commercial use of terrace (which is given for residential purpose) for erecting the network towers.

Vodafone and Airtel are liable to pay tax as the towers are on land that is not exempted for taking such tax.