MTNL to get financial assistance to meet MAT liability

The government approved on Saturday a DoT proposal for providing one-time financial support to state-run telecom company MTNL for meeting liabilities arising from levy of minimum alternate tax.

The government approved on Saturday a DoT proposal for providing one-time financial support to state-run telecom company MTNL for meeting liabilities arising from levy of minimum alternate tax (MAT).

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given it approval to the proposal, an official statement said on Saturday.

"This decision will help MTNL keep floating in the highly competitive telecom sector. It will also help MTNL arrange finances to meet its basic financial commitments like operations and maintenance of their telecom network," it added.

MTNL reported a book profit of Rs 2,348.49 crore for 2013-14, resulting in a MAT liability of Rs 492.26 crore.

The objective of this approval is providing a one-time financial support to MTNL due to reimbursement of MAT during the financial year 2014-15 through requisite budgetary provisions, the statement added.