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Thomas K. Thomas

New Delhi , Jan. 27

MAHANAGAR Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has represented to the Department of Telecom against the retrospective change of licence fee for the period 1999-2001.

While the DoT has asked for 12 per cent of the annual revenues as the licence fee for the period, the state-owned company has demanded that the licence fee be kept at Rs 900 per connection a year.

MTNL was granted a licence in 1986 to offer services in Delhi and Mumbai at a licence fee of Rs 101 per annum. In 1997, the licence fee was changed to Rs 900 per working telephone connection.

However, when the private operators were migrated to the revenue sharing regime, the Government in 2001 asked MTNL also to pay a fee amounting to 12 per cent of its annual revenues with retrospective effect.

The move was aimed at keeping the level playing field between state-owned companies and the private operators.

MTNL has raised objections to the DoT order on grounds that it had prepared its accounts, dividends, profit and taxes for the period 1999-2001 on the basis of the earlier regime and, therefore, it was willing to pay the licence fee as per the new regime from 2001 onwards.

Senior DoT sources said that there was some merit in MTNL's case since the accounts for the period have already been credited in the Consolidated Fund of India and it would be impossible to have a readjustment for the period 1999-2001.

They also said that DoT has set up an Empowered Committee to look into the issue.

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