ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed Zong to refund over Rs2 billion it collected improperly from its customers and comply with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) directive in this regard.
The court, presided over by Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, dismissed Zong’s appeal against the PTA order, which mandated the refund of Rs2.02 billion charged as service, maintenance, and operational fees between April 26, 2019, and July 12, 2019.
In its decision, the court noted that cellular operators, including Zong, had been charging customers Rs10 as service/maintenance fees on every Rs100 prepaid card purchase. Justice Aurangzeb referenced a Supreme Court ruling, which deemed such charges “invalid and unlawful.”
The issue dates back to March 5, 2018, when the Supreme Court took suo motu notice of public complaints about excessive taxes and service charges on prepaid card top-ups. The apex court’s interim order, issued on November 6, 2018, stated that service charges could not legally be imposed on amounts loaded by mobile users. This relief was later extended to post-paid subscribers as well.
The IHC order highlighted that telecom operators, including Zong, had informed the Supreme Court on March 27, 2019, that they had ceased collecting service charges and did not plan to reinstate them. However, in its response to the PTA on April 4, 2019, Zong argued it had not relinquished its right to levy such charges.
Following the Supreme Court’s directives, the PTA issued letters on July 8, 2019, asking telecom operators to disclose details of service charges collected after April 24, 2019. Zong failed to provide the requested information, prompting the PTA to order a refund of the collected amount in the form of balance credits without validity restrictions.
The PTA warned Zong that failure to comply with the directive by September 13, 2019, would lead to legal action. Instead of adhering to the order, Zong filed an appeal with the IHC on September 24, 2019.
The IHC has now declared Zong’s appeal “not maintainable,” upholding the PTA’s decision and instructing Zong to return the improperly collected amount to its subscribers.
