Govt to charge telcos uniform licence fee from Apr 2013

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In a move to bring uniformity in the sector, the government has decided to charge 8 per cent of gross revenue as licence fee from all telecom service providers across all categories and services from 2013-14.

At present, DoT is charging licence fee in the range of 6-10 per cent depending upon type of service and circle.

"A uniform annual licence fee rate of 8 per cent of AGR shall be adopted across all categories of service areas (metro A, B and C categories) of UAS/CMTS/Basic service licences in two steps starting from July 1, 2012," sources in DoT said.

Starting July 1, DoT will impose a fee ranging from 7 to 9 per cent on operators depending on the category of the circle while from April 1, 2013 onwards, the uniform fee of 8 per cent will be charged.

"From financial year 2013-2014 onwards, a uniform licence fee of 8 per cent will be charged," the sources said.

The sources added that for the period from July 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013, the operators have to pay an annual licence fee at a rate of 9 per cent for Metro and Category A, 8 per cent for Category B and 7 per cent for Category C circles.

Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata service areas comprise of Metro circle, while circles like Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu fall in Category A.

The imposition of uniform licence fee was earlier slated to be implemented from April 1, 2012. In February, while releasing the draft of National Telecom Policy, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had announced that a uniform licence fee of 8 per cent of AGR across services and circles would be levied as compared to range of 6-10 per cent.

In December last year, Telecom Commission, the highest decision making body of the Telecom Ministry, too had recommended a uniform licence fee of 8 per cent.