Tata Sky pays Rs 383 cr as licence fee

A DTH operator has to pay about 10% of its gross revenue as annual licence fee

Direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV provider Tata Sky on Tuesday said it had paid Rs 383 crore to the ministry of information and broadcasting as licence fee. The ministry had in March this year asked DTH companies to pay Rs 2,000 crore overall as licence fees.

A DTH operator has to pay about 10 per cent of its gross revenue as annual licence fee. Operators are contending the ministry should instead charge the fee as a percentage of adjusted gross revenue after taxes (excluding service and sales taxes). The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal would hear the matter next month.

Operators had approached the tribunal after the ministry sent notices to six DTH players on March 24, asking them to pay the fee in a fortnight. Airtel Digital TV, Reliance Digital TV, Videocon d2h and Sun Direct, among others which got the notice, are waiting for the tribunal’s decision on May 6.