The coronavirus pandemic has taken over the world resulting in a state of chaos and despair. As countries adopt the strategy of implementing lockdowns in order to curb the spread, while the population may be safe, the economy suffers a great loss during this crucial time.
On Friday, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting approved a new procedure for the payment of advertisement bills.
According to the notification issued by the ministry, in case of a display advertisement, 85 percent payment of the bills will be made directly to the media organization, newspaper, TV or a radio channel, while the remaining 15 percent shall be made separately to the concerned advertising agency as commission.
Similarly, in case of classified advertisements, 100 percent payment of the bills shall be made directly to the media organisation, concludes the notification. This would mean the advertising agencies would face immense losses, with the economy already in a crunch and business opportunities nulled, this would be an additional blow to the advertising sector.
It has already been seen that some advertising agencies have decided to announce pay cuts in order to survive the pandemic due to less to zero business.
Pakistan Advertising Association Appeals to PM Imran Khan
An appeal has been made by the Pakistan Advertising Association to the Prime Minister Imran Khan in order to, “Save jobs of thousands of people associated with advertising industry.”
The PAA believes the new procedure of payments bill issued by the Ministry will lead to imminent layoffs in the advertising sector. The appeal states,
“The procedure which circumvents the advertising agencies in prescribing the payment of display and classified advertisement bills directly to media organizations threatens the survival of the agencies without accruing any financial benefit to the government itself.”
Under the new payment of bills procedure, the commissions in form of ‘trade discounts’ agencies normally would receive would be written off in the case of the classified advertisements where 100% of the payment will be made to the media organization.
Here’s what they had posted:
PM Imran Khan has formed a committee of 5 people for the protection of the media workers and industry after the Pakistan Broadcasters Association has issues that need resolving. The committee will be responsible to review the recommendations put forth by the PBA and help solve the problems being faced by the association.
PM Imran said that media was playing a crucial role in the fight against the coronavirus. The prime minister further mentioned that the government will protect media workers and the industry.
What are your thoughts on the appeal put forward by the Pakistan Advertising Association? Let us know in the comments below.
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