The Hindu Business Line : <I>Sharp divide over access deficit charge </I>

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New Delhi March 6 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposal to collect Access Deficit Charge from incoming international long distance calls only has caused a rift between the Indian telecom industry and foreign telecom players like AT&T and BT. While the Indian telcos including Bharti, Tata Teleservices, VSNL and Reliance Communication are in favour of removing the levy on domestic telephone calls and loading it on incoming ILD calls, international operators are opposing it on ground that it will create imbalances in the sector. In a consultation paper, TRAI had suggested to keep ADC only on incoming ILD calls as one of the ways to collect the levy.

Responding to the TRAI paper, UK-based BT said, "The per minute basis for ADC levied only on ILD minutes leads to arbitrage opportunity, loading it only on incoming ILD minutes is not an ideal option. If the full burden is shifted to ILD incoming calls, the arbitrage will be increased substantially and may fuel the grey market further. It will also be discriminatory against the international telecom segment."

US-based AT&T pointed out that the disproportionate treatment of inbound international calling under the ADC regime is contrary to international trade rules and international best practice. On the other hand, Indian telcos are supporting the TRAI proposal. ADC is a levy imposed on telecom operators to fund rural telephony. At present, the levy collected amounts to Rs 3,200 crore, which could be reduced by 50 per cent this year and completely removed in 2008. "We agree that recovery of complete amount of ADC should be from ILD incoming calls on per minute basis only. This methodology is the most simple to implement and easy to monitor and if implemented, it would result in no burden on domestic industry," said Cellular Operators Association of India.