The Prime Minister's Office will refuse any attempt by iTV to negotiate over its giant penalties, and refuses to refer the issue to the Arbitration Court, a source said.

With the Central Administra-tive Court ruling against the Arbitration Court's 2004 decision to allow iTV to pay a lower concession fee and reduce its proportion of news coverage, the PM's Office can impose stringent penalties on iTV, bypassing the Arbitration Court.

The PM Office's invoice is expected to arrive at iTV headquarters tomorrow.

The anonymous source said: "We're acting in the name of the court and according to the concession. Now that the court has ruled on the dispute, iTV must decide how they will comply with it. And once the office's invoice arrives, it's iTV's duty to pay."

He also noted that if iTV failed to pay the hefty penalties of around Bt76 billion, incurred by reducing news coverage without the consent of the PM's Office, the authorities are empowered to revoke the concession.

"We're considering this issue and could have the legal team carry out the decision," the source added.

iTV will have to pay Bt77.7 billion: Bt76 billion in penalties for the unapproved reprogramming since 2004 and Bt1.7 billion as a two-year backdated concession fee plus interest.

Legal experts are split over the issue.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam yesterday mentioned the possibility of forwarding the demand to the Arbitration Court, which could mediate and find a satisfactory figure.

"This is not a big deal. If both sides come to a mutual understanding, the matter could be resolved," he said.

His comment upset Bangkok caretaker senator Jon Ungphakorn, who believes that negotiations are out of question and the PM's Office should revoke the concession if iTV cannot pay the bill.

Jon started the "Bring back our iTV" campaign, where the government was urged to revoke the concession. Next week, he plans to raise 50,000 signatures to support his campaign.

On June 8, iTV called on the Supreme Administrative Court to rule on the dispute.

Jade Donavanik, dean of Siam University's law faculty, suggested the establishment of a mediation panel, of accountants and economists, to find a more lenient penalty.

"The figure the PM's Office came to is too high, while iTV's figure of Bt300 million is too low. So, if the Supreme Administrative Court upholds the Central Administrative Court's ruling and if iTV still wants to remain in business, both iTV and the PM's Office should meet half way," he said.

He noted that if the upper court ruled against iTV, the broadcaster would need to pay the fines immediately but the amount would not be fixed, paving the way for further negotiations.

The academic said when Temasek Holdings took over Shin Corp, which owns 53 per cent of iTV, the public had no idea how Temasek priced iTV's share prices.

If the share price was low and if Temasek, which now owns over 90 per cent of Shin Corp, does not want the business, it could allow the PM's Office take over the television station.

Somkiat Tangkitvanich, a researcher at the Thailand Development Research Institute, said the authorities needed to be tough in this case.

"If they do not exercise their power or try to revoke the contract, they could risk being sued for malfeasance," he said.

Amid the confusion, Temasek has appointed an executive, Phoon Siew Heng, as a director of Shin Corp to replace S Iswaran. Phoon is head of Temasek's telecom investment unit, while Iswaran is Temasek's managing director for investment. Iswaran is expected to take up a political position in Singapore's government.

A Shin Corp source said the exit of Iswaran had nothing to do with the situation at iTV.