Islamabad, Sep 27: Concerns have been expressed by Pakistan’s Auditor General regarding the failure of telecom providers to pay the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) the unpaid balance of Rs. 389.219 million.
Despite explicit instructions in the telecom operators’ licensing conditions regarding the Universal Service Fund (USF), Research & Development (R&D) payments, Annual licensing Fees (ALF), and Annual Radio Frequency Spectrum Fees (ARSF), the dues are still underpaid, according to the Audit Report for FY 2022–2023.
According to the audit report, telecom operators are required by license requirements to pay 0.5 percent of their annual gross revenue as ALF within 120 days of the end of the financial year, and to contribute 1.5 percent and 0.5 percent of their annual gross revenue to the USF and R&D, respectively.
Moreover, there is a two percent monthly penalty for late payments, which increases the total amount still owed to PTA. The report states that a total of Rs. 414.39 million in receivables from USF, R&D, ALF, and ARSF, as well as fines levied against three mobile carriers for subpar service quality, are listed at the PTA headquarters under the Cabinet Division.
Nevertheless, PTA was only able to retrieve Rs. 25.17 million, meaning that telecom carriers still owe a substantial sum of Rs. 389.218 million. USF and R&D contributions comprise Rs. 191.74 million, ARSF dues are Rs. 125.91 million, ALF dues are Rs. 40.80 million, and fines for subpar service amount to Rs. 23 million among the outstanding dues.
PTA’s poor receivables management was chastised in the audit report, which also highlighted the company’s inability to recover the due sums within the allotted time frames. PTA replied that it understood the circumstances, but pointed out that certain operators had made direct deposits with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications (MoITT), for which PTA was still awaiting verification. PTA also mentioned legal issues, claiming that operators had secured orders of stay from the High Courts of Sindh and Islamabad, preventing further collection.
The Auditor General advised prompt action, rejecting PTA’s response and highlighting the outstanding amount of Rs. 389.219 million. The Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) gave PTA instructions to speed up its recovery efforts and aggressively prosecute ongoing court cases during a meeting on December 20, 2023.
To overcome the financial shortfall, the audit advises the PTA to completely follow the orders of the DAC, clear the legal obstacles, and recover the remaining balance from telecom operators. By the time the audit was concluded, no noteworthy advancements had been revealed about the matter.
