Senate Committee Questions PTA Over Jazz’s Rs. 6 Billion Tariff Collection

Meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom held today. The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecom has raised serious concerns over Jazz’s collection of more than Rs. 6.58 billion in tariffs, allegedly charged above the rates approved by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

During the briefing, audit officials revealed that the record of tariff approvals related to Jazz’s packages had not been provided. They noted that although PTA is responsible for regulating tariffs under the law, the authority had failed to share its approval documents with the audit authorities.

Senate Committee Questions PTA Over Jazz’s Rs. 6 Billion Tariff Collection

Senator Anusha Rehman pressed for answers, asking whether these tariffs were properly regulated. She criticised PTA for not showing seriousness, reminding the officials that PTA is the custodian of the private telecom sector and its negligence was now damaging the reputation of private operators.

Audit representatives further explained that Jazz had overcharged its customers by increasing rates beyond approved levels. According to their report, the company collected an additional Rs. 6.58 billion during the financial year 2023-24 through selected weekly and monthly packages.

The audit also highlighted that PTA allowed operators to increase package prices by up to 15% per quarter, which could result in a 75% annual increase. In Jazz’s case, actual price hikes on certain packages went up to 31.5% within one year — significantly higher than the average inflation rate of 18% during the same period.

See Also: Senate IT Committee to Probe Jazz Over Alleged Rs. 6.58 Billion Overcharge, Spectrum Irregularities

Examples from the audit report showed that the Monthly Super Duper package increased by 20.2%, the Weekly Super Plus package by 25.8%, and the Monthly YouTube & Social Offer by 31.5%.

Senator Anusha Rehman also questioned when the audit reports are made public. Audit officials clarified that reports are released only after being tabled in Parliament. They added that PTA had provided old records but failed to share the latest approvals.

Concluding the session, the Standing Committee directed PTA to submit the complete record of Jazz’s tariff approvals at the next meeting.