CENVAT

The Supreme Court has allowed telecom companies to claim the Central Value Added Tax (Cenvat) credit for the installation of mobile towers and peripherals such as pre-fabricated buildings (PFBs) for which they have paid excise duties. The judgement was delivered by a Bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh. The court held that mobile towers and PFBs or shelters fall within the definition of ‘capital goods’ or ‘inputs’ under the CENVAT Rules, 2004, as they provide essential support for the effective transmission of mobile signals and enhance their efficiency.