TN govt refuses to withdraw Entertainment Tax on Film tickets; Reduces it to 8 per cent from 10
The Tamil Nadu State government has stood its ground and refused to withdraw the Local Body Entertainment Tax (LBET) on film tickets.
The Tamil Nadu State government has stood its ground and refused to withdraw the Local Body Entertainment Tax (LBET) on film tickets.
However, it has agreed to reduce the LBET to eight per cent from the originally imposed 10 per cent.
It may be recalled that the TN government had earlier announced that the theatres would have to pay a Local Body Entertainment Tax of 10 per cent in addition to the Goods and Services Tax of 28 per cent for Tamil films. The LBET for non-Tamil films would be 20 per cent, the government had said, much to the dismay of various segments of the film industry, which then chose to protest.
While the multiplexes announced that they would be cancelling shows, the Tamil Film Producers Council said that no new films would be released in the state. The film industry’s representatives demanded a complete roll back of the LBET as they said it not only violated the one nation one tax principle of GST but also that it would have a severe impact on the film business in the state. However, despite repeated pleas from the representatives of various film bodies, the tax has not been withdrawn by the government.
Instead, the government has announced that it will reduce the LBET from 10 per cent to eight per cent.
The Producer Council has meanwhile pressed for implementing certain rules in theatres in the state. The TFPC believes these rules will reduce the burden on the audiences. Some of the rules are :
1. No tickets should be sold above the government-scheduled rates for each class and theatre.
2. Theatres must sell items in their canteen on MRP rates. More importantly, viewers must be allowed to carry their own water bottles inside the cinema halls.
3. There must be no parking charges for film goers.
4. Online booking charges will have to be brought down.
The Producers Council has warned that any theatre found selling tickets at a higher price than the price stipulated by the government will have to be ready to face the consequences.
Meanwhile, this statement by the Producers Council has not gone down too well with theatre owners, who see it as a statement aimed at restricting their options.
