Mobile internet use in India may become expensive in the future. The government is considering the option of imposing a new tax on mobile data usage. According to reports, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been asked to conduct a study on the matter and decide whether it is possible to impose tax on data usage or not.
According to media reports, the issue came up during a review meeting of the telecom sector recently. Subsequently, DoT was directed to examine whether a tax can be imposed on mobile data usage and if so, what would be the operational model for such tax. According to reports, the specific option the government is currently considering includes imposing a tax of ₹1 per GB of data. If implemented, this additional charge could be added whenever a user uses mobile data.
There are reports that if a tax of ₹1 per GB is implemented, it could generate annual revenue of about ₹22,900 crore for the government. However, at this stage it is only a proposal, and no final decision has been taken regarding it. India is one of the countries where mobile data is extremely affordable globally. Due to the low cost of Internet access, data consumption has increased rapidly in India. Mobile data usage continues to increase due to activities such as video streaming, social media, online gaming and watching short-form video reels.
Another important thing to note is that mobile recharge and postpaid bills already attract 18% GST. This implies that users are already paying tax on telecom services. If a separate tax on data is imposed in future, it will be a new charge in addition to the existing taxes. At present, the government has directed DoT to comprehensively study the proposal and assess its potential benefits and drawbacks. The government will take the final decision regarding whether to impose a new tax on mobile data usage in India or not only after receiving this report.
Although no official statement has been issued by the government on the matter yet, reports citing various sources have been circulating on multiple platforms—from Reddit to other social media channels—for the past few days.
