We constantly hear about the “Ease of Doing Business” in India. We celebrate UPI, GST, digitization and the supposed seamlessness of our modern, growing economy. Yet, beneath this digital veneer lies a corporate bureaucracy so archaic it would make a 1980s government office look agile.
Case in point: CNBC-TV18 Access, a premium subscription service owned by the massive Network18 Media & Investments Limited.
Recently, I subscribed to their service, paying INR 5,900 upfront. In any efficient economy, the transaction loop is simple: An invoice is issued as soon as the payment is made. This is the bedrock of trust in commerce.
However, CNBC-TV18 Access decided to withhold my GST invoice. When I followed up – twice – after a month of silence, I received a demand list that reads like a due diligence checklist for a merger and acquisition deal…!
To issue a simple invoice for a payment they have already received, they demanded:
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PAN Copy
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TAN Copy (Tax Deduction Account Number)
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GST Registration Copy
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Certificate of Incorporation
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Data Privacy Consent Letter (Drafted, signed, and sealed on my letterhead)
Let’s be clear: This is regressive, obstructive and anti-business.
Why is this absurd?
I am the Customer, not the Vendor: I paid you. Why do you need my TAN and Incorporation Certificate? I am not a supplier undergoing a risk assessment. I am a paying subscriber asking for an invoice.
The “Sarkari” Private Sector: We often mock government entities for red tape, but this is a private media conglomerate acting with the lethargy and rigidity of a pre-liberalization permit office. They have over-engineered their compliance to the point of customer hostility.
Data Privacy Irony: Demanding a “Data Privacy Consent Letter” to process a simple bill is the height of irony. You are collecting more sensitive data (Incorporation certificate, TAN) than is necessary for the transaction, thereby increasing the privacy risk.
GST Compliance vs. Corporate Bloat: The GST Act requires my GSTIN, name and address to raise a valid B2B invoice. It does not mandate a dossier of corporate governance documents. This is not “compliance”; this is lazy ERP implementation where every customer is treated as a high-risk counterparty.
It is baffling that a media house, which reports daily on market agility and corporate governance, fails the most basic test of business efficiency.
If you are a subscription business, your accounts team should be able to automate invoicing based on the GSTIN provided. If you require manual submission of a signed “Data Privacy Consent Letter” just to acknowledge receipt of ₹5,900, you have lost the plot.
Network18, fix your processes. Stop holding GST invoices hostage behind a wall of unnecessary paperwork. It shouldn’t be harder to get a bill than it was to earn the money to pay it.
Sanjay Shah
SME Business Coach