DTH service like a cinema ticket, Govt can impose entertainment tax – HC

The Delhi High Court on Monday said the DTH service was like a cinema ticket providing continuous entertainment to viewers and hence, liable to be taxed by the state government. Four prime DTH service providers- Tata Sky, Dish TV, Bharti Telemedia (Airtel) and Bharat Business Channel (Video-con)- had challenged this state legislative provision.

The entertainment tax is to be “paid” on “payments for admission to an entertainment”. Section 2(m) defines the expression “payment for admission” to, inter alia, include [s.2(m)(vi)] any payment made by a person by way of contribution, subscription, installation or connection charges or any other charges collected in any manner whatsoever for entertainment through direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting service or distribution of television signals and value-added services with the aid of  any type of addressable system, which connects a television set, computer system at a residential or non-residential place of subscriber’s premises, directly to the satellite or otherwise. Let us compare this with the traditional concept of “payment for admission” as contemplated in section 2(m)(i) of the said Act to mean “any payment made by a person  for seats or other accommodation in any form in a place of entertainment”. This brings to fore the classical concept of payment for a cinema ticket or a theatre ticket. Without the ticket you cannot enter the place of entertainment and, therefore, cannot receive the entertainment. Times have changed, technology has changed and this has brought about a complete upheaval in the manner of delivering entertainment. Our drawing rooms have taken the place of the cinema hall or theatre and the cable TV or DTH connection has taken the place of the paper ticket. Similarly, money paid for the ticket has been substituted by subscription money paid for the relevant connection (i.e., cable or DTH, as the case may be). Just as there could be no admission to a place of entertainment without a ticket, there cannot be admission to entertainment provided through a cable service or DTH service without a connection. Section 2(aa) of the said Act, inter alia, stipulates that in the case of entertainment through cable service and direct-to-home (DTH) service, each connection to a subscriber shall be deemed to be an admission for entertainment. In this sense the DTH connection is the “virtual ticket” and the payments for it including subscription money are the payments for admission to entertainments.

THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

Bharti Telemedia Ltd. Vs Government of NCT of Delhi and Anr.

W.P.(C) 2194/2010        

Tata Sky Ltd versus Government of NCT of Delhi And Anr   

W.P.(C) 13 12/2010

Bharat Business Channel Ltd vs. Government of NCT Of Delhi And Anr                                                

W.P.(C) 2718/2010

Dish TV India Limited versus Government of NCT of Delhi And Anr          

W.P.(C) 4621/2010

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