The GST Rate rationalisation exercise saw rate cuts for over 400 products and services, but the GST rate for broadcasters remained the same at 18%. Ahead of the latest GST Council meeting, broadcasters had made a pitch for lowering the GST rate from 18% to 5%.Interestingly, the GST Council has slashed the GST rate for TVs from 28% to 18%, to stimulate greater consumption. But the Council has not seen it fit to allow a rate cut for broadcasters.Currently the services like DTH, IPTV and subscriptions to digital media services are facing an 18% GST burden. The pitch by the industry had sought to reduce it to 5% or exempt it entirely.
News broadcasters are quick to point out that printed newspapers are spared the GST burden and are exempt. Broadcasters also claimed financial pressures and reduced operating margins, putting to risk millions of jobs. They argue that a reduction in the GST rate will bolster the health of the sector at large.The All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) had written to the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of I&B, seeking GST relief. In their submission, they had cited how Cable TV had a reach of over 6.4 crores and how it supported over 10-12 lakh direct jobs.AIDCF’s pitch was that putting it in the 5% slab would make Cable TV – the primary source of information, entertainment and education for crores – more affordable and accessible. The AIDCF letter had argued that MSOs and LCOs were made up of mostly MSMEs, and any GST relief would allow them to build wired broadband capacity – a stated objective of the Government.In the letter, AIDCF Secretary General Manoj P. Chhangani had said, “Cable TV is not just entertainment, it is part of India’s social fabric. Families in small towns and rural areas gather around it as a shared medium of education, information, and culture. A rationalisation of GST to 5% will not only ease the burden on consumers but also preserve lakhs of livelihoods and safeguard an industry that has been instrumental in bridging the digital divide.”Also Read: Exclusive | FM Sitharaman confident GST rate cut to roll out on September 22
Source link
