D SHANMUGAM Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a writ petition for the issue of a writ of declaration declaring that the provisions of sections 5-A and 5-B of the Tamil nadu Entertainments Tax Act, 1939, as amended by the Tamil Nadu Entertainments tax (Amendment) Act, 1983 (Act 1 of 1983), are ultra vires and unenforceable, so far as the petitioner's theatre is concerned.

(2.) IT is, inter alia, stated in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition that the petitioner's theatre was constructed in the year 1977 at a cost of about Rs. 5 lakhs. IT is a semi-permanent theatre located in a town panchayat village. The petitioner obtained form "c" licence on 6th October, 1978 and started to screen pictures from 9th October, 1978 onwards. The permitted capacity of the auditorium is 690 seats. The total gross collection when the theatre is houseful is Rs. 427. 75 per show. The petitioner is paying taxes under the compounding system provided in section 5-B of the Tamil Nadu Entertainments Tax Act, 1939.

(3.) IT is further submitted on behalf of the petitioner by the learned counsel for the petitioner that the method of collection of tax under sections 5-A and 5-B leaves no option to the petitioner excepting to pay the tax without any reference to the actual collections from the petitioner's theatre. There is no reasonable basis for fixing the maximum number of shows and collecting tax on the assumption that all the shows are houseful. IT is also contended on behalf of the petitioner by his learned counsel that there is no basis for treating the petitioner's cinema theatre differently from the semi-permanent theatres (sic) when both are operating in mofussil areas. According to the petitioner, the classification is not reasonable and there is no justification for levying more tax for semi-permanent theatres than the touring cinema theatres whose operational costs are very much lower than the former.