PTCL not will to share it’s accounts with AGP
The Auditor General Pakistan (AGP) report has flagged massive violations by the telecom sector including the state owned telecom company – the PTCL and the SCO, while the largest telecom company of the country overcharged Rs6.58 bn from the consumers.
The Audit report has highlighted that despite directions from the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament and the demands by the Auditor-General of Pakistan the Pakistan Telecommunications Company ltd (PTCL) refused to show its account books for audit.PTCL claims that it was a private entity despite the fact that only 26 percent shares and management control is held by Etisalat (now e&).
Whereas, the Government of Pakistan has 62 percent stake in the PTCL
The remaining 12 percent is publicly held and traded on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
However, several objections related to the PTCL have been highlighted under the audit paras of other regulatory agencies like the Universal Service Fund (USF), Frequency Allocation Board etc. that PTCL was not paying its dues, some financial misconducts by the PTCL etc.SCO.
The Audit report has also raised Rs3.54 billion observations against Special Communications Organisation (SCO), another state owned telecom company that operates in Gilgit-Baltistan and the AJK.
The audit observations included Rs1.33 bn in terms of procurement related irregularities and Rs2.21 bn for other irregularities including overpayment on account of purchase of equipment at excessive rates, operational expenditure etc.
JAZZ
Meanwhile, audit report highlighted that the largest mobile telecom company of the country – Jazz gas overcharged Rs 6.58 billion during FY 2023-24 from the customers.The audit has recommended to hold an inquiry into the matter to determine responsibility.
The Audit report has also directed that there was a need for fixation of responsibility on the officials at fault for allowing or failing to regulate the overcharging.
The audit report highlighted that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) failed to provide the required record until the finalisation of the audit report.
According to the audit findings, Jazz charged consumers higher rates than those approved by the PTA, in violation of several sections of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-Organisation) Act, 1996.The audit report mentioned that the PTA response to the audit objection was that the telecom sector was de-regulated, and the telecom regulator only looks after competition, avoids predatory pricing by significant market player (SMP) operator, to let other operators control Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of the operators.PTA in its letters dated 12th February, 2024 and 12th August, 2024 granted approvals to Jazz for increase in prices of its packages, at its own, upto maximum 15 percent, per quarter and upto 5 percent decrease in incentives in any bundle / package / plan under prior intimation to Authority for a period from February – June 2024 and August – December 2024 respectively.
The AGP report has mentioned that blanket approval upto 15 percent quarterly increase in tariff to the operator was against the spirit of Consumer Protection.
ZONG
The Audit has also mentioned that the PTA was failing to settle the Rs 53.54 billion case related to use of illegal spectrum by Zong, though the matter was under litigation.
A after through bashing of Jazz the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a ‘Clarification’.
It added that “PTA Refutes Claims of Unauthorized Tariff Increases”.
The telecom sector regulator claimed that as It has come to the notice of PTA that certain misleading information is being circulated on social media.”.
The PTA said that this information, suggested Jazz charged its subscribers tariffs beyond those approved by PTA during the financial year 2023–24 -as referenced in the Auditor General of Pakistan’s report.
ThevPTA clarified that no such overcharging has taken place.
The tariff adjustments highlighted in the audit observations were duly approved by PTA in line with the prescribed regulatory framework.
All relevant records substantiating these approvals were shared with the audit authorities for their verification.PTA remains committed to safeguarding consumer interests and ensuring a fair, transparent telecom ecosystem.
The Authority maintains continuous oversight of all operators’ tariff structures to ensure strict compliance with regulatory requirements and to prevent any unfair commercial practices.
