Millions of rupees’ worth of annual regulatory fees owed by telecom operators to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) were not recouped.
The telecom operator failed to collect Rs. 393.31 million in 2020–21 on account of Annual Regulatory Dues (ARDs) from telecom operators, according to audit papers made public.
The records state that the money is owing under many headings. Basic Telephony has a debt of Rs. 37.4 million, while the Annual License Fee (ALF) – Mobile has outstanding payments of Rs. 14.9 million.
Additionally, Rs. 227.2 million in Universal Service Fund (USF) fees are outstanding to the telecom regulator. Also not paid by telecom providers in 2020–21 was research and contribution of Rs. 78.5 million.
A further Rs. 26.6 million in Annual Spectrum Fee (ASF) and Rs. 8.4 million in Annual License Fee (ALF) – LDI are outstanding to PTA by the telecom regulator.
According to the audit records, the management was informed of this in November 2021. In response, the PTA stated that majority of the unpaid balances had been contested by the operators in various courts.
The audit report states that the response was unacceptable since, in each case, the courts sent the petitions back to the PTA for examination, which the PTA administration has not yet completed.
Additionally, National Telecom Corporation (NTC) promised to pay all past-due amounts that haven’t been retrieved. The audit suggests that instances be evaluated before being presented to the courts for restitution from defaulters.
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