On the recharge of Rs. 100, the user’s balance is Rs. 88.889 (and not Rs. 76 as stated on social media) after deduction of Rs. 11.111 from withholding tax @ 12.5 percent. GST @19.5 percent is levied on the basis of per call, SMS and data usage. When a customer spends his remaining Rs. 88.889 balance, a minimum of Rs. 14.505 deducts as GST. Because of lack of clarity on GST deduction in addition to withholding tax, users are assuming that CMOs are charging well above applicable taxes, which is not true. In addition, PTA has placed a call setup charges ceiling @Rs. 0.15 per call. PTA is diligent with regard to the rates / tariffs charged by CMOs, and any recorded instance of charging above published tariffs and applicable taxes will be implemented in compliance with legislation.
