| Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has got back at the finance ministry by refusing to part with details of its subscriber base. |
| The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had sought information from BSNL for tracking income-tax declarations made by individuals and corporates. |
| The move comes after the finance ministry had shot down a number of proposals from the public sector unit, including one that sought a financial support of Rs 18,000 crore spread over five years for rural telephony and reimbursement of licence fees. |
| This prompted Communications Minister Arun Shourie to take the issue to the Union Cabinet. |
| BSNL officials pointed out that information about subscribers was sensitive and no company would be prepared to make it public for fear of misuse. |
| The officials said Shourie had taken up this issue also with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh. "We have sought a direction from the finance minister to the CBDT for not demanding across-the-board information on telephone subscribers," an official said. |
| BSNL officials, however, said the two issues were not linked, but sources in the communications ministry said there was strong resentment within the telecom department. |
| The officials added that BSNL was facing technical and commercial difficulties in furnishing subscriber details without taking permission from consumers. |
| "A reason for the decline in new additions to our subscriber base is the mandatory requirement of filing income-tax returns. If BSNL is asked to divulge details of its subscribers, there will be more disconnections. Given its declining revenues, BSNL can ill afford such a situation," one of the officials explained. |
| Tit for tat |
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