COAI has added to its list of submission made to the government seeking NIL duty on import of Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) for use in the telecom sector and also sought tax reliefs for Independent Infrastructure Providers (IP-1s).

“OFC is the backbone for providing telecom and broadband services to millions of customers and exemption from duty on OFC will enable expansion of affordable service, especially to the rural and far-flung areas which are yet to be covered,” said T.V.Ramachandran, Director General, COAI.

COAI backed the demand by reasoning that most of the countries do not charge customs duty on import of OFC.

In an effort to encourage infrastructure sharing, COAI called for the government to provide some tax relief. As a measure, COAI asked that benefits under Section 80 IA currently available to Access Service Providers should also be extended to Independent Infrastructure Providers resulting in bringing down the cost of services and ultimately.