SC: Telecos can claim tax credit for excise duties paid on towers, infra

In a relief to mobile service providers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday held that the telecom companies can take the benefit of CENVAT credit for payment of service tax on the output services rendered by them.

The CENVAT Credit Rules of 2004 refers to the set-off available to manufacturers if they utilise some specific inputs procured by them after paying excise duties for manufacturing their products.

The top court's significant verdict held that mobile service providers are also covered under the CENVAT credit rules as they pay excise duties on various items for setting up their business more particularly for erection of mobile towers and peripherals like pre-fabricated buildings (PFBS).

A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and N Kotiswar Singh settled a decade-old dispute which arose after the Bombay High Court order of 2014 which held that the mobile service providers (MSPs) were not entitled to claim CENVAT credit on mobile towers and prefabricated buildings.