New Delhi – Manoj Sinha, the telecom minister said on Friday that the telecom operators would have to absorb a rise in the GST rate. After the implementation of GST, the industry has appealed to the government for its intervention. The entire industry is demanding for the low tax rate to 5%.
The GST implementation has fixed the GST rate of 18%. It is 3% increase from the 15% which has been set in the pre GST era. The criteria which have been set close to the four different slabs. The previous rate which has been set was 17.5%. Additionally, the telecom operators would get input credit of 1.17%. The news has come from the close source. The difference has been around 1%. It is said that in case it was fixed at 12%, the rate would have gone to 10%.
The rates have gone up high marginally after the implementation of GST. This the telecom services can absorb without trouble. The telecom minister has added that the rates would be reviewed if the need comes to push. However, the 1% hike would mean that the rate would go up to 40 paise.
The minister added that the presence of Jio is a healthy sign. It is said that the consumption of data has gone six times up. The telecom market is growing and shifting to data. The process means the telecom minister is not voiced centric. In fact, the entire telecom process is data centric.
Addressing the fear which the telecom operators are experiencing due to the entry of Jio, the minister has said that any new company which enters the market would bring along some pros and cons. However, the market gets stabilized without trouble in some times. It occurred previously in 2002.
Sinha who operates as the railway minister as well, says that bigger consultation is possible for the new telecom policies. When a question about the improvement of BSNL, the minister says that the company is going in the right direction.
