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Published: June 12, 2017 8:29 PM IST 
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Happy news but long way to go, say ilm producers in Bengal
Kolkata, June 12 (PTI) A day after the GST Council lowered the tax rate of cinema tickets priced below Rs 100 to 18 per cent, the producers' bodies and distributors in Bengal cautiousy welcomed the mo
Kolkata, June 12 (PTI) A day after the GST Council lowered the tax rate of cinema tickets priced below Rs 100 to 18 per cent, the producers’ bodies and distributors in Bengal cautiousy welcomed the move, but said there was a long way to go.
“Happy news for the industry. But still we have to go a long way,” Director of SVF films Mahendra Soni told PTI.
“We are positive that our finance minister Amit Mitra will protect the interest of Bengali film industry,” Soni said.
Soni’s SVF was the premier film production house in the state.
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Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said yesterday, “If a state wants, it can refund the state GST for promoting regional cinema. And it has been decided that there would be two GST rates. For tickets priced above Rs 100, a 28 per cent tax will be levied, for below Rs 100 it will be reduced to 18 per cent.”
Owner of leading film distributor Priya
Entertainments, Arijit Dutta said, “For every Rs 100 ticket now a single screen would have to pay Rs 18, while for every Rs 200 ticket the hall-owner woud have to pay Rs 56. So the woes plaguing the industry will increase and the regional films will be badly hit.”
“The single screens will be able to rake up some profit from big banner Bollywood and Hollywood films, but the regional cinema will die if there was no further reduction,” he said.
The Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA), which had earlier decided to sit for an emergency meeting on July 4 to take stock of the situation post-July implementation of GST, held a series of parleys to discuss the details.
An EIMPA spokesman said, “The 28 per cent GST would have been too high for Bengali film industry. However the present 18 per cent tax also remained high. We are taking up the issue with the state government.”
The EIMPA and Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India on June 10 met at Technicians Studio one day before the Centre’s decision to implement 2 GST rates.
This is published unedited from the PTI feed.