Budget wishlist: Telecom infra providers bat for availability of input tax

Telecom infrastructure providers are seeking availability of input tax credit on telecom towers, and have made a plea for an increase in tax depreciation rate and rationalisation of TDS provisions in their Budget wishlist.

The players under the aegis of Digital Infrastructure Providers' Association (DIPA) said measures to facilitate ease of doing business will increase investment and contribute to the industry's long-term growth.

Being a sunrise sector, telecom has been providing affordable-quality assured communication services, DIPA noted.

The association counts Summit Digitel, American Towers, Indus Towers, Ascend Telecom, Cloud Extel, Pratap Technocrats, Crest Digitel, Signotox Towers, Applied Solar Technologies, iBUS Networks, and Suyog Telematics, among its members.

DIPA in a release said the telecom infrastructure industry is seeking government support for the availability of input tax credit on telecom towers, increase in tax depreciation rate to 65 per cent from 15 per cent on batteries for industrial and commercial use to ensure cost recovery within three years' economic life of the batteries.

Other demands include rationalisation of TDS provisions on purchase of electricity and purchase of diesel, according to a release by the industry association.

There are over 7.7 lakh telecom towers in the country that host almost 27 lakh Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) to provide 2G, 4G, and 5G services on a pan-India basis and serve about 1.2 billion customers in the country.

"The Budget should outline supportive policies, simplified regulations, and simple GST norms to aid the development of the telecom infrastructure industry," DIPA Director General T R Dua said.

DIPA said it has written to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking support for telecom infrastructure industry in Union Budget 2024.