IHC strikes down Pemra’s 5% ad revenue levy on 23 TV channels, voids Rs32bn demand notices

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday declared illegal the demand notices worth Rs32 billion issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to 23 television channels for the recovery of 5% of their annual advertisement income, The News reported. 

The court accepted petitions filed by the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) and several TV channels challenging the notices issued by Pemra in March 2022. The levy had remained suspended under a stay order until the final ruling.

Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, in a 29-page written judgment on petitions filed by the PBA and others, held that recovery of such revenue prior to the Pemra Rules, 2009 was unlawful and without authority.

The court observed that Pemra failed to demonstrate a reasonable connection between the 5% levy on annual advertisement income and the costs incurred in performing its regulatory functions.

The judgment stated that a regulatory fee must have a direct and reasonable nexus with administrative or oversight functions relating to licensed broadcasters. It added that expenses cited by Pemra could not be clearly linked to the supervision or regulation of media entities.

The court further ruled that if collected funds are used merely to raise revenue or finance development projects unrelated to the regulatory framework, the levy loses legal validity. It concluded that the basis provided for charging five per cent of gross advertisement revenue was insufficient.