IHC Strikes Down PEMRA’s Rs32 Billion Levy

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has struck down demand notices amounting to Rs32 billion issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to 23 television broadcasters for the recovery of 5% of their annual gross advertisement revenue, declaring the levy unlawful.

The ruling came in response to constitutional petitions filed by the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) and multiple television channels contesting the legality of the notices issued in March 2022. The impugned levy had remained in abeyance pursuant to an interim stay order until the court’s final adjudication.

In a detailed 29-page judgment, Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz held that the imposition and recovery of such charges for periods prior to the promulgation of the Pemra Rules, 2009 lacked lawful authority and could not be sustained in law.

The court observed that Pemra did not establish a rational or proportionate link between the 5% charge on annual advertisement income and the actual costs associated with carrying out its statutory regulatory functions.

It was emphasised that a regulatory fee must demonstrate a clear, direct, and reasonable nexus with administrative, supervisory, or licensing responsibilities concerning regulated entities. The judgment noted that the expenditures cited by Pemra were not convincingly correlated with oversight or compliance functions relating to broadcasters.

The court further clarified that where a levy is structured primarily as a revenue-generating measure or is utilised for purposes beyond the statutory regulatory mandate, it ceases to qualify as a valid regulatory fee. Consequently, the justification advanced for imposing five per cent on gross advertisement revenue was found to be legally inadequate.