Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)’s expansion plans in the North-East has run into hurdles, owing to a 4 per cent entry tax imposed by the Assam government on every piece of telecom and IT gear that enters the state. The telecom major faces the prospect of time and cost overruns as the gear meant for its mobile, broadband and landline capacity build-up seldom reach the required areas on time. The incumbent purchases nearly Rs 20 billion worth of project gear every year to ramp up communication infrastructure in these states.
