Budget 2026: Cut GST to make TV, OTT affordable: IBDF President Kevin Vaz

New Delhi: Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF) and Indian Digital Media Industry Foundation (IDMIF) President Kevin Vaz has backed the industry bodies’ demand for a GST reset to make television and digital subscriptions more affordable, arguing that the tax framework must reflect the “public value and scale” of mass-access content services.

“Television and online curated content services have become essential, mass-access platforms for millions of Indian households, providing dependable access to entertainment, sports, news and learning. At a time when the media ecosystem is navigating structural shifts, it is important that the tax framework reflects the public value and scale of these services,” Vaz, who is also CEO – Entertainment, JioStar, said.

IBDF and IDMIF have urged the Centre to reduce GST on TV and digital subscriptions to 5 per cent from 18 per cent, contending that the current rate hurts affordability and adoption and creates uneven treatment across platforms. 

The bodies have also sought parity so similar services are not taxed differently merely because of the medium.

“A more rational and contemporary GST approach can make subscriptions more affordable, support wider adoption, and meaningfully enhance disposable incomes, especially in price-sensitive markets,” Vaz said. 

“Such reforms would not only help revive consumer demand and strengthen the media and entertainment value chain, but also advance national priorities of Digital India, ease of doing business and inclusive growth,” he added.

In their Budget 2026-27 submissions to the Ministry of Finance, IBDF and IDMIF have also flagged working-capital lock-ups and GST disputes as constraints on reinvestment. 

Among other proposals, the bodies have sought fixes to the inverted duty structure and input tax credit blockages, working-capital relief linked to actual receipt of payments in certain cases, and an LTU-like mechanism under GST to reduce multi-state audits for large taxpayers.