Telecom towers may get GST credit

A proposal before the GST Council may allow input tax credit on telecom towers, resolving a long-standing tax issue for the sector. The Council may also take up a clarification under which towers need not be declared as places of business, according to sources.

The issue over credit arises from the treatment of telecom towers as immovable property. A tower is bolted to the ground and had therefore been treated as falling within the description of immovable property, on which credit was not available. The proposed change recognises that, in function, a tower is equipment used to carry the antennae through which telecom services are delivered.