Entertainment Tax in India

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Taxation is an essential feature of the governance model of any country. Various kinds of taxes are applicable on goods and services bought and sold by individuals and enterprises. Tax is also levied on income earned by different individuals and business houses. Entertainment tax is a sort of tax levied by the government on movie tickets, commercial shows (large scale) and other private festival celebrations.

Features of Entertainment Tax in India:

Entertainment tax forms a part of the tickets that we buy for watching movies or big entertainment shows.

Some of most prominent features of term insurance plans are listed below:

Entertainment tax is applicable to some or the other form of entertainment throughout the country and is a part of the various costs borne by customers
State governments are the authorities responsible for collection of entertainment tax from customers
Entertainment tax in the country is different for different states since it is under the purview of the state governments
Article 246 of the Indian constitution lists down all rules and guidelines that are applicable to the entertainment tax in India
Paid television services like Airtel TV, Dish TV and Tata Sky have led to further taxes being levied on entertainment
Entertainment tax applies to the following categories of entertainment too:

Exhibitions
Activities related to sports
Amusement Parks
Arcades
Celebrity Stage Shows
Theatre Shows
Video Games

Entertainment tax was launched when the British Government ruled India, in order to curb public gatherings. However, the levying of the tax continued in the post-independence era too and still exists in all states of the country.

Entertainment Tax Rates Applicable to Various States in India:

Entertainment tax comes under the purview of the state governments in the country. This is the reason why various states in India have various entertainment tax rates. Following is the table that lists down the prevalent entertainment tax rates in different states of the country.

Name of State	Tax Rate
Maharashtra	45%
Uttar Pradesh	60%
Karnataka	30%
Kerala	30%
West Bengal	30%
Haryana	30%
Bihar	50%
Jharkhand	110%
Orissa	25%
Delhi	20%
MP	20%
Gujarat	20%
Andhra Pradesh	20%
Assam	15% for tickets that cost less than Rs.20 and 20% for tickets that cost anything above Rs.20
Tamil Nadu	15% (All Tamil films are tax-free in the state)
Rajasthan	0%
Jammu & Kashmir	0%
Himachal Pradesh	0%
Punjab	0%

News About Entertainment Tax

Entertainment Tax Shows No Signs of Decrease Post Demonetization

Although revenue collections across all businesses and trades have seen a downslide in the demonetised market, Entertainment Tax which is levied by the Department of Excise and Taxation has actually seen an increase.

Entertainment Tax Officer at Gurugram, Mr. Balraj Singh said that this is the result of better monitoring. He informed that the tax collections for all categories in November increased by more than 21% contrasted to the same month the previous year.

The department gathered Rs.3.02 crore this November post demonetisation, whereas the amount for last year in November was Rs.2.47 crore - a growth of more than Rs.54 lakh. The November collection has also increased in comparison to October, 2016 by Rs.95 lakh.

20 December 2016
Spike in entertainment tax revenue

Pune’s department of Entertainment Tax has seen a spike in tax revenues collected by them since the announcement of the demonetization of the Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes. The Department of Entertainment Tax showed a tax collection of Rs.3.48 crore in 10 days, this spike in revenue has been partially attributed to the fact that the Central Government has directed civic bodies to accept the old Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes till the 24th of November. Cable operators, gaming centres, event organisers, and video parlours who have been defaulting in payment of tax have come forward to pay their arrears with the old Rs.500 and Rs.1,000 currency notes.

22 November 2016