News Broadcasters Federation requests government to waive off fees for news channels on DD free Dish

• NBF has requested the government to relax and offer tax concessions including lowering GST rates and filing dates, postponing the deadline for TDS payments until June 30.
• The NBF is seeking extension in deadlines for compliance, since employees handling regulatory issues are currently working from home.

The broadcast industry has found itself amidst an economic and social crisis. Unlike other sectors, it isn’t easy for journalists to work remotely with utmost efficiency. The major source of income for broadcasters is advertising, which has now been curtailed.

The News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) has therefore requested the government to consider relaxing the taxes and waiving fees for news channels who operate on DD Free Dish platform for the period of March and April.

Apart from that, to overcome the financial impact, the NBF requested the government to relax and offer tax concessions including lowering GST rates and filing dates, postponing the deadline for TDS payments, for at least a minimum period of three months, until June 30.

“The News Broadcasters Federation strongly stands and supports the Government of India’s proactive measures to combat spread of COVID-19 virus, which has posed a health and economic threat to the country. This extraordinary situation required the government to take extraordinary measures to save the news broadcasting sector that performs a public service for free. Else, we perish,” said Arnab Goswami, President, News Broadcasters Federation.