The Centre must do away with imposition of any levy in addition to the highest 28 per cent goods and services tax (GST) on movie tickets and accord industry status to the film sector, suggested a just-concluded Assocham-PwC joint study.
“While the GST legislation classifies access to cinema as a luxury and puts it under the highest tax rate of 28 per cent (tickets costing above Rs 100), but considering the socio-economic developments around the world, the cinema may not really be a luxury, at least in metro cities,” said the Assocham-PwC joint report.
Currently under GST, tax at the rate of 18 per cent is levied where the price of tickets is Rs 100 or less and 28 per cent in other cases.
Also, the municipal and local bodies are allowed to levy a parallel entertainment tax along with GST, which may vary from state to state. The levy of LBETs (local bodies entertainment tax) is at the discretion of the states.