DoT set to drop data plan for taxing mobile data use

The department of telecommunications (DoT) is unlikely to go ahead with a proposal to tax mobile data usage, with technical challenges in implementing such a levy and concerns over its impact on data consumption emerging as key reasons for shelving the idea, according to officials aware of the matter.

The proposal had been taken up after a review of the telecom sector chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January. DoT was asked to examine whether data usage could be taxed to generate additional revenue and work out a model that could encourage the use of data for productive activities while discouraging consumption that could contribute to digital addiction, particularly among children.