Cost of providing mobile telephony services would go up by 10%: Taipa

NEW DELHI: Mobile infrastructure companies led by lobby group Taipa (Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association) said that the cost of providing mobile telephony services would increase by nearly 10% due to unresolved tax implications on infrastructure firms.

As part of pre-Budget 2018-19 recommendations, the group has told the department of revenue that under the new Goods and Service (GST) Act, telecom towers have been specifically excluded from the plant and machinery clause which would lead to a tax burden of Rs 1-1.5 lakh on deployment of each tower.

“Telecom towers are the backbone of the telecom industry and any denial of this credit would substantially increase the cost of providing this service to the common man,” Taipa director general Tilak Raj Dua wrote in a letter.