TRAI simplifies format for filing financial statement by cable operators

TRAI has issued a simplified version of the format for filing operational and financial statements by small cable operators. Such information, required for the exercise of tariff issues, can be filed in different Indian languages, a government release said.

All cable operators who have less than 500 subscribers should fill up the new format and submit it to TRAI by post/fax/e-mail by 28 February 2010, TRAI said.

TRAI said it has undertaken the exercise relating to tariff for cable TV services in non-CAS areas following a Supreme Court order of 13 May 2009 directing it to complete the exercise by 30 June 2010.

TRAI had, earlier, asked all stakeholders to complete the submission of information about their financial and operational figures in the prescribed formats by 15 February 2010. The formats for submission of the information are available on TRAI website: http://www.trai.gov.in/BCSFormat.asp, the release said.

TRAI said it has received representations from some quarters indicating that some small cable operators may not have access to computers and they may be unable to understand the format fully.

The simplified new format is indented to facilitate the small cable operators (having less than 500 subscribers), TRAI said, adding that it has also published an advertisement in this regard in different regional languages.