Cess on new TVs, radios likely

YOU MAY soon have to pay more for new TVs and radios sets. The proposal to levy a cess, which was shelved last year, has quietly been revived, and the government is actively considering it as part of the financial restructuring plan for public broadcaster Prasar Bharati, an official told ET. The move, if approved by the Cabinet will help Prasar Bharati rake in about Rs 800 crore per year. A group of ministers (GoM) headed by home minister Shivraj Patil and consisting of 12 other ministers is looking into the issue. (The GoM’s primary task was to review Prasar Bharati’s performance and look into the grievances of its 45,000 employees.) According to analysts, the cess will further raise the tax structure on colour TVs and radio sets from about 30%. “The cess will only increase grey market operations,’’ said Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (Ceama) general secretary Suresh Khanna. The grey market share of radio sets is 75% and that of colour TVs is 25%. While figures for the current fiscal are yet to be computed, data shows that in 2005-06, about 11.5 million colour TVs and 7 million radio sets were sold in the country. A Prasar Bharati source told ET that the public broadcaster (including the All India Radio) faced an annual revenue deficit of about Rs 900 crore. While the proposed cess may bridge the annual revenue deficit, it however, does not address the key concerns of Prasar Bharati, which include the infusion of massive capital for digitalisation and roll-out of new platforms such as mobile TV, digital radio mondiale, high definition TV and car TV.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes

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