DoT likely to drop ₹1-per-GB data levy, easing risk to India’s digital commerce adoption

India’s Department of Telecommunications is expected to shelve its proposed ₹1-per-GB mobile-data levy after concerns over implementation and potential disruption to digital payments, e-commerce and internet adoption. Consumers already pay 18% GST on telecom services.

— Source publishedWed, 9 Sept, 2026, 21:40 IST·First seen Wed, 9 Sept, 2026, 22:10 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) · India’s DoT is likely to shelve a proposed mobile-data tax, citing implementation difficulties and risks to digital

Key facts

  • Rs1 per GB proposed levy
  • 285 billion GB mobile data usage in FY26
  • 24.5% year-on-year increase
  • 229 billion GB mobile data usage in FY25
  • 18% GST on mobile recharges and telecom services
  • September 30 deadline

Why this matters

Lower regulatory risk around mobile-data pricing supports strategic interest in Indian digital-commerce, payments and customer-engagement assets that depend on sustained mobile usage.

What to watch

  • Official DoT statement, consultation outcome, cabinet decision or budget language formally withdrawing the ₹1-per-GB proposal.
  • TRAI or DoT proposals for alternative digital-connectivity, universal-service or telecom-sector funding mechanisms.
  • Prepaid recharge and data-pack price changes by Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL.
  • Mobile-data usage growth, UPI transaction volumes and e-commerce conversion trends in prepaid-heavy and non-metro cohorts.
  • Any increase in telecom GST, spectrum charges or operator levies that could be passed on to consumers.
  • Maintain mobile-first customer journeys, especially lightweight checkout, UPI flows, WhatsApp commerce and vernacular discovery.
  • Use the lower policy-risk backdrop to expand data-intensive retail formats such as live commerce, shoppable video, AR product visualization and richer loyalty engagement.
  • Stress-test acquisition, conversion and order-frequency models against a future 3-8% increase in effective mobile-data costs rather than assuming the issue is permanently resolved.
  • Monitor telecom tariff actions: even without the levy, operators may raise prices to fund network investment, affecting lower-income and prepaid consumers disproportionately.
  • Prioritize low-bandwidth app and web experiences in Tier 2-4 markets, where data affordability remains a key conversion and retention variable.