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NASHIK: In what might appear to be holding the city's cable television subscribers to ransom for the entertainment tax not paid by cable operators, Nashik district administration has decided to disconnect feed to homes in a bid to pressurise the local cable operators (LCOs) and multi-system operators (MSOs) to recover dues.
"If the MSOs and LCOs fail to clear their outstanding dues with respect to their existing number of customers, we will discontinue the feed to the areas of respective operators. This will result in loss of transmission to the cable television customers," Nashik collector Vilas Patil said on Wednesday.
The administration made its stance clear in a meeting with LCOs and the MSOs on Tuesday, asking them to remit the total outstanding dues by Friday, September 6.
Operators have not cleared entertainment dues, collected from customers at the rate of Rs 45 per customer per month, over the past five months. The administration puts the total number of customers at 1.78 lakh, and thus the outstanding amount of dues to be cleared by August-end is Rs 4 crore.
Asked if this amounted to a harassment for customers who have paid due charges to operators, Patil said that the administration wanted the customers to question LCOs and MSOs as to why their tax - already paid by them - was not deposited with the government. "Since the revenue is yet to come to the administration, we can seal the premises and stop the feed. This will raise awareness among customers about questioning their operators about the government's dues and why that has been deposited with the government," Patil said.
Cable TV subscribers warn that this ploy may actually be detrimental to the district administration's cause. "The consumer pays taxes through the operators, not directly. Thus the administration cannot snap connections to the customers. If it does end up disconnecting feed, it will become a legal stand point. The better way is to find another solution to the problem," said Major (retd) PM Bhagat of the Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat, Nashik.
The collector also pointed out that there could be some rogue customers or some customers not in a financial condition to pay the dues, but it is for the LCOs to think about the same, since the tax collected is less than a fourth of the total monthly rental charged by operators. "The tax is a small amount compared to what they charge their customers every month. Operators cannot argue on that issue," Patil said.
According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) orders, MSOs are to pay the taxes to the district administration. On the other hand, LCOs are bent on paying the taxes to the administration, arguing that they had the right to do so under the section 4 (2) (b) of the Bombay Entertainment Duty Act, 1923. "They are skipping the responsibility of paying the tax in full by not disclosing the total number of customers with set-top boxes (STBs), which has to be assessed by the administration first," Patil said.
Administration to snap cable connections - Times Of India
..
"If the MSOs and LCOs fail to clear their outstanding dues with respect to their existing number of customers, we will discontinue the feed to the areas of respective operators. This will result in loss of transmission to the cable television customers," Nashik collector Vilas Patil said on Wednesday.
The administration made its stance clear in a meeting with LCOs and the MSOs on Tuesday, asking them to remit the total outstanding dues by Friday, September 6.
Operators have not cleared entertainment dues, collected from customers at the rate of Rs 45 per customer per month, over the past five months. The administration puts the total number of customers at 1.78 lakh, and thus the outstanding amount of dues to be cleared by August-end is Rs 4 crore.
Asked if this amounted to a harassment for customers who have paid due charges to operators, Patil said that the administration wanted the customers to question LCOs and MSOs as to why their tax - already paid by them - was not deposited with the government. "Since the revenue is yet to come to the administration, we can seal the premises and stop the feed. This will raise awareness among customers about questioning their operators about the government's dues and why that has been deposited with the government," Patil said.
Cable TV subscribers warn that this ploy may actually be detrimental to the district administration's cause. "The consumer pays taxes through the operators, not directly. Thus the administration cannot snap connections to the customers. If it does end up disconnecting feed, it will become a legal stand point. The better way is to find another solution to the problem," said Major (retd) PM Bhagat of the Akhil Bhartiya Grahak Panchayat, Nashik.
The collector also pointed out that there could be some rogue customers or some customers not in a financial condition to pay the dues, but it is for the LCOs to think about the same, since the tax collected is less than a fourth of the total monthly rental charged by operators. "The tax is a small amount compared to what they charge their customers every month. Operators cannot argue on that issue," Patil said.
According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) orders, MSOs are to pay the taxes to the district administration. On the other hand, LCOs are bent on paying the taxes to the administration, arguing that they had the right to do so under the section 4 (2) (b) of the Bombay Entertainment Duty Act, 1923. "They are skipping the responsibility of paying the tax in full by not disclosing the total number of customers with set-top boxes (STBs), which has to be assessed by the administration first," Patil said.
Administration to snap cable connections - Times Of India
..
