The news television channels currently pay GST at the rate of 18%. The high level of GST taxation has a negative impact and has proven costly for the news industry, which mostly relies on advertising as the main source of revenue. Based on the value of input services generally used by News Channels,
NBF has made a representation to the Minister of Finance and Minister of Information & Broadcasting seeking parity in GST rates with the print media industry, in order to help the companies in the business of news media make a fair contribution to the exchequer while ensuring that the taxation levels enables the channels to maintain their financial viability on a sustained basis.
