April 27, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 20, 1429

ISLAMABAD, April 26: The Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting on Saturday asked the PTV to streamline procedure for recovery of dues.

These remarks came when the committee took strong exception to continuous defaults by an advertising agency and the PTV’s failure to recover the dues. The agency is owned by a former information minister and it has been defaulting since 1993.

The sub-committee which met under the convenorship of Senator Tariq Azim Khan, instructed the PTV to pursue the matter seriously. As the agency provided fake guarantees it constituted a criminal offence.

The Senate body declared that it would stand by the PTV management under all circumstances in its bid to recover the outstanding dues and asked the corporation to go about it without fear or favour.

The convenor of the sub-committee underscored the need to put in place proper systems and procedures to avoid defaults in future.

He said that the recovery of PTV dues had become cumbersome only because the procedures were not followed in the past. He directed that 90-day’s deadline be followed strictly without any exception after expiry of which all cases must be referred to the PBA.

The Sub-Committee fixed a maximum time period of three months for arbitration cases, which should not linger on for months or years. It also recommended that once an advertisement is suspended on the PTV networks due to non- payment, it should remain suspended until and unless the advertising agency clears all its dues. It should not be allowed re-run after receiving part of the payment, it observed.

The sub-committee highlighting the role of the Credit Controller observed that he should not only be experienced and well versed with accounts business but also report to the MD directly.

It further directed that a reputable Charted Accountant be appointed and credit limit of all advertising agencies which are not clearing their dues in time be reduced substantially. It also advised that bank guarantee or any other form of guarantee be obtained to ensure payment and it should be done before giving business to any client.

Earlier, the MD PTV submitted that the Corporation’s receivables are still below 0.5 per cent and this is well within the normal limits of business practices. He said that he had already instructed the officials concerned of the corporation to re-draft SOPs as directed by the sub-committee and a marked improvement is being witnessed during the last four months. He also informed the sub-committee that the PBA helped them recover Rs25 million from various advertising agencies.