DoT considers cut in license fee from 10 per cent to 6 per cent

NEW DELHI, June 27: The monsoon session of the parliament would decide the
fate of the mobile and fixed line operators on the annual license fee, with
Department of Telecom (DoT) actively considering to cut the fee to 6 per cent
for the current 10 per cent.

DoT is in the process of finalising the license fee, which is likely to see
reduction in the tariffs. DoT officials said that the reduction would be
effective only after the monsoon session of the parliament. The official said
that once the fee structure is ready the bill would be placed in the parliament.
The monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled to start in July.

Currently, there is no uniform system on the license fee. The mobile and
fixed line operators have to pay a fee of 10 per cent for metros and category A
circles, 8 per cent for category B circles and 6 per cent for category C
circles. If this cut in license fee comes in to effect, it would bring about 4
per cent reduction, which in turn would lead to cut in tariffs benefiting the
subscribers.

However, this reduction would mean revenue loss for the government. But the
DoT officials denied revealing any figures on the revenue loss due to this cut
in license fee.

The new fee will be applicable for both mobile and fixed line services and
will include a 5 per cent universal service obligation (USO) levy.