The Islamabad High Court has declared the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA’s) demand of Rs. 32 billion from television channels illegal, bringing major relief to the broadcasting industry. The court ruled that PEMRA had no lawful justification for charging five percent of annual advertisement income from TV channels. The verdict ends a long-running dispute that began nearly four years ago.
The demand notices were issued by PEMRA in March 2022 to 23 television channels, asking them to pay charges based on their yearly ad revenue. The notices were challenged by the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) along with several media houses, including Independent Media Corporation. Since then, the court had placed a stay on the recovery of the amount.
Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz issued a detailed 29-page judgment after hearing the petitions. The court held that PEMRA could not legally collect such revenue, especially for periods before the enforcement of the PEMRA Rules, 2009. Any collection without clear legal backing, the court said, was illegal.
In its ruling, the court pointed out that PEMRA failed to show a clear and reasonable link between the five percent levy and the actual cost of regulating television channels. According to the judgment, most of the expenses cited by the regulator were administrative in nature and could not be directly tied to monitoring or supervising licensed broadcasters.
The court further observed that a regulatory fee must be connected to the service it claims to support. If such charges are used mainly to raise revenue or fund unrelated development projects, they lose their legal standing. The judges concluded that PEMRA’s explanation for collecting a share of advertisement income was not convincing or sufficient under the law.
