2005 (12) TMI 217

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....assessee-company is engaged in the business of providing infrastructure facilities as telecommunication service provider in the Punjab Circle including Chandigarh. The assessee-company had set up an independent network parallel to the network of DOT (now BSNL) for providing basic telephone service in the State of Punjab. Whenever a subscriber of the assessee-company calls a subscriber of BSNL and likewise whenever a subscriber of BSNL network calls a subscriber of the assessee-network, then the calls are routed through each others network. The assessee-company had entered an interconnect agreement with BSNL which lays down various parameters of such inter connectivity. Whenever the subscriber of the assessee-company dials a number of subscr....

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...., therefore, held that the AO has rightly treated the appellant to be in default as per the provisions of the Act and accordingly, the action of the AO in this regard is confirmed." Aggrieved by the said order of CIT(A), the assessee is in appeal before the Tribunal. 6. The learned counsel for the assessee, Shri Ajay Vohra, stated that the assessee has paid interconnect charges to BSNL which are charges paid for using the network of BSNL. According to him, no technical services are provided or no knowledge is imparted by BSNL and the charges paid are only to use the network of BSNL. He referred interconnect detailed bill, which is placed at pp. 65 to 69 of the paper book, to explain that the call charges received from the subscriber a....

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....ture in operating condition. As such, the payment made by the assessee is for the technical services being provided by BSNL. He also stated that the case of Skycell Communications is distinguishable as in the said case the dispute was with regard to payment received by the cellular mobile telephone operator from its subscriber, whereas in the instant case, the assessee-company as well as BSNL are providing service to their subscribers. 9. We have heard both the parties and have gone through the orders of lower authorities and the decisions referred by the parties. We are of the opinion that the interconnect charges paid by the assessee to BSNL cannot be treated as technical services as provided under s. 194J. The assessee-company is payi....