New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has put out a draft amendment to its broadcasting rules on September 22 that said audits of distributors of television channels will now follow the financial year instead of calendar year, smaller distributors with fewer than 30,000 subscribers can skip the annual audit and proposed new rules for watermarks on TV screens, among other changes. Titled 'Telecommunication (Broadcasting And Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2025,' TRAI first issued its Interconnection Regulations for TV and cable services in 2017 and has amended several times since. Over the years, broadcasters and distributors have raised concerns about the audit rules, as well as incorporation of the new guidelines on infrastructure by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. To address these issues, TRAI released a consultation paper in August 2024, sought industry feedback, and finalised the Seventh Amendment Regulations, 2025 released Monday. Under the new proposal, audits of TV distributors will be aligned with the financial year, from April to March, rather than the earlier calendar year (January to December) system. The change was brought in because the stakeholders were of the view that "all the accounting provisions and audits in India are scheduled based on the financial year," and this will bring "conformity and similarity with other accounting and taxation practices and law." For the first time, smaller distributors with 30,000 or fewer subscribers may opt out of the annual audit, says the proposed amendment. TRAI says the changes are meant to resolve long-standing issues of audit delays, high compliance costs for smaller operators, and technical confusion in shared networks. This approach is in line with promoting ease of business and reducing regulatory burden, added TRAI in an explanatory memorandum. Broadcasters have expressed concern that exempting small players from mandatory audits could lead to under-reporting. "Further, some of the bigger DPOs [distribution platform operators] may take advantage of this loophole and take multiple licenses and would keep the size in the category of smaller DPO and would not conduct the audit," stakeholders told TRAI. The amendments also propose that if a broadcaster finds gaps in an audit report, it can raise objections within 30 days, after which the auditor will have another 30 days to respond or issue a revised report. In cases where disputes persist, TRAI may allow a special audit, while failure to meet the September 30 deadline would open the door for broadcasters to commission their own audit, which must be completed within four months. Distributors must also submit their audit reports for the previous FY to broadcasters, with whom they have entered into interconnection agreements, by September 30 each year. The draft also requires that only TRAI-approved auditors can conduct these checks, and they must certify their independence before starting work....