In a major relief to the country's public broadcaster, the Prasar Bharati has been exempted from paying any income tax, with the smooth passage of the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha.

As per one of the amendments in the Finance Bill, 2012 which was passed by the Lok Sabha yesterday, "any income of Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India)" is now mentioned among entities who will not have to pay tax.

Though the Prasar Bharati does not pay income tax currently since it does not earn profits, the exemption comes as a big relief.

      Till now Prasar Bharati had to maintain accounts at nearly 600 Drawing and Disbursal offices(DDOs) to meet the requirement of Income Tax procedures, officials said.
The public broadcaster will also be spared of the financial burden of engaging tax consultants and chartered accountants.

Officials of the Public Broadcaster said that while the decision to exempt Prasar Bharati from paying income tax was a welcome step, this demand had not found a very receptive audience among Finance Ministry officials for a long time.

"The proposal to exempt Prasar Bharati had been there but only after Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni examined the matter and decided to raise it with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that the process caught pace," a senior official told PTI.

The official said that Prasar Bharati worked in national interest and the drain of its resources was ultimately being borne by the government.

"The exemption is an important step to improve Prasar Bharati's financial affairs and also a great recognition of the important role it plays," said the senior official.
 

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