The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of all broadcasters in the country, has urged the government to clear dues worth over Rs 55 crore for airing television commercials of various ministries and departments.
According to the IBF, the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP), the nodal agency responsible for clearing the dues on behalf of the central government, has not cleared the bills for the past two-three years.
“We are constantly in touch with DAVP officials. But it has not worked out so far. In fact, some broadcasters in IBF banned a few government departments and did not air their commercials last year,” a top IBF executive says.
Senior government officials at the DAVP concede that there are such dues.
“We changed our billing system recently. We are processing the bills, both old and new, in accordance with the new format and payments should happen soon,” a senior official said, requesting anonymity. However, sources in the government say money has not come from several departments and ministries whose commercials were released via DAVP.
