An official audit has found that the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) failed to recover Rs87.53 million in outstanding licence fees, other charges and penalties, raising concerns about the authority’s financial management and revenue recovery procedures.
According to the Audit Report on the Accounts of the Federal Government (Civil) for Audit Year 2025-26, PEMRA had recoverable dues of Rs87,535,339 as of June 30, 2025. Auditors observed that the authority had not collected the outstanding amounts despite having legal powers to recover unpaid fees and penalties from television and radio operators.
The auditors described the failure as a management lapse that deprived the authority of revenue legally due to it. The report also noted that PEMRA management had not submitted a response to the audit observations by the time the report was finalised.
Cable TV Operators Account for the Largest Outstanding Amount
The audit identified cable television operators as the largest source of PEMRA’s outstanding revenue. The authority had Rs59,885,339 in recoverable dues from cable TV operators.
The remaining outstanding fees and charges included:
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Satellite television operators: Rs17,920,000
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FM radio operators: Rs2,330,000
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Total outstanding fees and charges: Rs80,135,339
In addition to these unpaid amounts, PEMRA had failed to recover Rs7.4 million in penalties and fines imposed under its regulatory powers. This brought the combined outstanding amount to Rs87,535,339.
PEMRA Had Legal Powers to Recover Outstanding Dues
The audit report highlighted that PEMRA had the authority to recover outstanding amounts under the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Act, 2023.
Under Section 29B of the amended law, unpaid licence fees, annual renewal fees, other charges and fines can be recovered as arrears of land revenue. This provision provides a legal mechanism for pursuing outstanding payments from regulated operators.
However, auditors observed that PEMRA management had failed to recover the dues despite these legal provisions, raising questions about the implementation of the authority’s recovery procedures.
Audit Highlights Rules for Depositing Recovered Penalties
The report also referred to Section 36A of the PEMRA (Amendment) Act, 2023, which requires penalties and fines recovered by the authority to be deposited into the Federal Consolidated Fund.
The Federal Consolidated Fund is the government’s main account for receiving public revenue and managing government funds in accordance with the law.
The audit findings therefore highlighted two areas of concern: the failure to collect outstanding fees and penalties, and the need to ensure that recovered fines are deposited according to legal requirements.
PEMRA regulates electronic media services in Pakistan, including cable television, satellite television and FM radio broadcasting. The audit’s findings have placed its financial oversight and enforcement of payment recovery rules under scrutiny.
