The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in M/S Bharti Airtel Limited & Ors. held that telecommunication towers are movable property and not immovable, thereby affirming the Delhi High Court’s decision that input tax credit on such towers cannot be denied under Section 17(5) of the CGST Act.
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Delhi High Court’s December ruling that favoured Bharti Airtel and Indus Tower, holding that telecom towers qualify as “movable” property and, thus eligible for input tax credit (ITC) under the income tax laws.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Bharti Airtel Ltd. upheld the rights of the telecom operators and infrastructure companies to claim CENVAT credit on infrastructure duties and upheld the Hon’ble Delhi High Court decision in the Vodafone Mobile Services Limited v. Commissioner of Service Tax, Delhi and over turned the contrary ruling of Bombay High Court in the case of Bharti Airtel Ltd. v. Commissioner Central Excise, Pune- III
The Goods and Service Tax Appellate Authority has ordered Bharti Airtel to pay Rs 194 crore GST on licence fees and spectrum usage charges demanded by the Department of Telecom, a regulatory filing said on Thursday.
