"In the process of data transmission, other than light energy, no other elements are involved and the customers are paying for the same. This proves that light energy constitutes goods, which is liable for levy of tax. Therefore, the State has every legal competence and jurisdiction to tax it," the department has contended.
Sounds reasonable to me. Since the sale of energy is usually measured in kilowatt-hours, how many kwh of energy is transmitted across the average optical fibre before it reaches the powereda mplifier in the destination switch/router? I'd like to see some hard numbers on this. The light shining down optical fibres is laser light. There exist medical devices which are powered by laser light shining through the tissues. There are also some types of satellite devices which can receive power from ground-based laser beams. The crux of this issue is the actual measurement of power transmitted which will turn out to be very small. --Michael Dillon