2% cinema ticket cess: State government assures Karnataka High Court of no coercive action against petitioners for now
The Karnataka High Court has granted temporary protection from coercive action to cinema operators challenging a new 2% cess on movie tickets. The court will continue hearing the case in October to determine if the state has the legislative competence to impose the levy.
Why it matters
Highlights a legal conflict between state-level welfare taxation and the cinema industry's operational autonomy.
The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday recorded the State government’s assurance that no coercive action would be taken against cinema theatre/multiplex operators, who have challenged the constitutional validity of the newly introduced 2% cess on movie tickets under the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Act, 2024.
Justice H.T. Narendra Prasad, hearing petitions filed by Multiplex Association of India, PVR INOX, and Vinayaka Chitramandira Theatre, noted the submission made by the government advocate that no coercive steps would be initiated against the petitioners for violation of the provisions of the Act until the next hearing.
Following this assurance from the government, the court did not pass any interim order, including staying of the operation of the Act, which came into force on September 30. The protection from coercive action would be available only to the petitioners.
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