Govt not keen on doing away with LF and USO levies
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Indian telecom service providers' hopes to get relief from paying levies on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) might get dashed on the Union finance ministry's revenue concerns, according to two senior officials close to the discussions. “It’s under consideration, but unlikely that it will be accepted," one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity.
“There’s the issue of exchequer revenue getting affected." Telcos had asked the government to prospectively remove the licence fee, including the universal service obligation (USO) fee, as a share of AGR, or reduce it from 8% to 0.5-1% of AGR. The measure was suggested after the Supreme Court in September dismissed telecom companies' review petition seeking corrections in the AGR calculations. AGR is the revenue telecom operators earn from their core services, such as mobile and internet services, and licence and USO fees are charged on it.
Telcos currently pay 3% of AGR as the licence fee, and 5% of AGR as the USO fee once a quarter. The USO fee goes towards the USO Fund that is used to ensure connectivity across unconnected regions of the country. Also read | Mint Explainer: Why telcos seek fair share on top of bundled OTT plans In response to Mint's queries, S.P.
Read more on livemint.com
