Govt enhances revenue collection from telecom sector to Rs 50,519 cr

The government Friday increased revenue expectation from the telecom sector, which is reeling under financial stress, to Rs 50,519 crore in 2019-20.

The Budget documents presented in Parliament on Friday showed provision of Rs 50,519.81 crore as non-tax revenue from the communication sector for 2019-20 which was kept at Rs 41,519 crore in the Interim Budget 2019-20 in February.

The collection from the sector in the last fiscal fell short of Rs 9,416.42 crore at Rs 39,245 crore from the budgeted provision of Rs 48,661.42 crore.

Receipts from the telecom sector mainly relate to the licence fees from operators and spectrum usage charges.

The government is planning to go for spectrum auction this year that also involves sale of frequencies for 5G services.

The telecom regulator Trai has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore. The Department of Telecommunications has recently decided to refer the recommendations back to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for review.