The Chennai Corporation Special Officer’s Council has resolved to offer exemption to business operators, including film theatre owners, from payment of entertainment tax and remission of the tax. The State government is expected to take a decision on exemption and remission of the tax shortly.
The civic body recommended exemption and remission of the tax following demands from various associations of the film industry in the State.
Corporation officials had been instructed to collect entertainment tax from amusement parks, horse race clubs, recreation clubs and cricket clubs. The Revenue Department officials were empowered to levy entertainment tax within its jurisdiction with effect from July 1, persuading business operators to file returns by the end of every month.
‘Waiting for G.O.’
Following protests by various associations of the film industry, the zonal assistant revenue officers and entertainment tax officers did not carry out verification, checking and signing of the returns filed by the proprietors of the respective entertainment events in the film industry. “We are waiting for the government order. We will start work on covering cinema theatres under the entertainment tax net only after the government order. Many zones do not have any work relating to entertainment tax because of the delay in the G.O.,” said an official.
Even as entertainment tax officers of zones such as Royapuram, Adyar and Sholinganallur have started conducting inspections on the premises of business operators, most of the officers in other zones are yet to start work. The entertainment tax was set to be collected by way of demand draft or cheque in favour of the Revenue Officer, Corporation of Chennai.
The Corporation must take two-fifths of the collections for horse race, 10% for amusement park, 20% for recreation parlours and 25% for cricket tournament as entertainment tax.
