The government has proposed to abolish the equalisation levy on online advertisements, a part of amendments to the Finance Bill, 2025, in a move, which experts deemed as a signal from India to remove some taxes on businesses, particularly, under pressure from the new United States administration over tariffs.
As part of the 35 amendments to the Finance Bill, 2025, the Centre wants to remove the 6 per cent equalisation levy (EL) it charges on digital ads from April 1, 2025. This has been in force since 2016, on payment exceeding Rs 1 lakh a year to a non-resident service provider for online advertisements.