Universal Service Fund: SC sets aside Rs4.79bn tax liability
The Supreme Court allowed the Universal Service Fund's appeal over about Rs17.76 billion paid to telecom firms, and its 38-page judgment also annulled parts of a revised tax assessment.
The Supreme Court set aside a tax liability of about Rs4.79 billion linked to the fund's payments.
The court held that payments to telecom firms for underserved areas were outside the withholding rule in clause 153(2)(b).
The Universal Service Fund's appeal was allowed, and parts of a revised assessment and an ADR committee decision were annulled.
The payments at issue were roughly Rs17.76 billion; the ADR committee had cut the liability to about Rs1.53 billion.
The judgment runs 38 pages and was delivered by a three-judge bench.