Regulators have turned down a request by digital-TV operators to delay paying the second instalment of licence fees by one year.
Holders of 24 licences are due to pay 8.12 billion baht in total on May 25. The amount is part of the seven-year payment plan set forth in the auction terms.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) made the decision on Friday after consulting two state agencies on the issue, secretary general Takorn Tantasith said in a statement.
The Auditor General's Office told the NBTC the delay was not possible. The payment schedule was clearly spelled out in the NBTC announcement on the criteria and terms of the digital TV auction and the addendum to the licence. They were considered part of the contracts, it said.
A delay is possible only if the addendum is amended but such a change must not cause damage to the country or favour the private sector, it said.
The Attorney General's Office also shared a similar view, saying the extension was possible only when the NBTC announcement was amended first. However, the change must not cause damage to the state.
The NBTC early this month approved in principle the request pending public hearings and consultation with other state agencies.
As a result of the NBTC's Friday decision, all 24 licence holders will have to pay the second instalments by the original schedule.
As of Friday, 16 licensees paid a combined 6.65 billion baht for the second instalment.
Earlier, they sought to put off paying the second instalment by one year without interest charges.
They reasoned the infrastructure the NBTC had promised had not been expanded according to plan. Mcot Plc and the Public Relations Department, the two agencies responsible for network expansion, claimed they had to wait for the green light from the new management following post-coup shakeups.
The holders of all 24 licences will have to pay their dues by the original schedule, says Mr Takorn on May 22, 2015. (NBTC photo)
Besides, there have been instability and glitches in the first year which are not fair to companies who agreed to pay huge sums for the licences, the holders claimed.
All but one listed digital-TV licence holders were hard hit by the investments in the first quarter of this year.
Amarin Printing and Publishing Plc posted a 121.22-million-baht loss during the period, up 2,902.19% year-on-year. Mono Technology Plc also posted a loss of 68.05 million baht, compared to a profit of 43.19million baht in the same period last year.
But Workpoint Entertainment Plc, whose digital-TV rating outpaced Channel 9 and Channel 5, posted a profit of 8.20 million baht compared to a loss of 17.70 million baht year-on-year.
The digital-TV auction was held on Dec 25 and 26, 2013. According to the auction terms, licence holders must pay the licence fees on May 25 each year for six years, starting in 2014.
There are two types of payments. The minimum licence fee must be paid in four years — at 50%, 30%, 10% and 10% respectively.
The excess fee — the sum offered above the minimum fee — must be paid in six years, at 10% in the first two years and 20% over the subsequent four years.
On May 25 this year, the holders are scheduled to pay 8.12 billion baht in total, divided into 4.56 billion baht in the minimum fee and 3.57 billion in the excess fee.