The Punjab Entertainment Duty Act, 1955
Act 16 of 1955
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Posting of tables of rates of payment for admission at
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For Statement of
Object and reasons, see Punjab Government Gazette Extraordinary, dated 31st
March, 1954.P 335
Received the
assent of the Government of Punjab on the 3rd November, 1955, and was
first published in the Punjab Government Gazette Extraordinary, dated the
4th November,
1955.
LEGISLATIVE
HISTORY
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1. |
Extended to the
territories which, immediately before the 1st November, 1956, were
comprised in the State of Patiala and East Punjab States Union by Punjab Act
No. 23 of 1957. |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 32 of 1957 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 5 of 1963 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 28 of 1963 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 25 of 1965 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act, 10 of 1965 |
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Adoption
of laws Order, 1970 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 3 of 1971 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 21 of 1973 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 21 of 1973 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 17 of 1974 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 13 of 1978 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 8 of 1982 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 4 of 1986 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 3 of 1994 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 21 of 1994 |
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Amended by
Punjab Act 23 of 1994 |
An Act to provide
for the levy of an entertainment duty in respect of admission to public
entertainments.
Be it enacted by
the Legislature of Punjab in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:
Statement of
Object and Reasons:
The
Punjab Entertainment Duty Act, 1936, has many loopholes. Many of the mal-practices indulged in by the
proprietors of entertainment houses at present go unpunished for want of
suitable provisions under the existing Act. This is resulting in considerable
evasion and loss of revenue to Government. In order to avoid this loss of
revenue, it has now become necessary to revise the Punjab Entertainment Duty
Act, 1936. The Bill is accordingly designed to met this purpose"(Vide
Punjab Government Gazette Extraordinary, dated the 31st March, 1953,
p 335)
1. Short title, extent and
commencement: -
(1) This Act may be
called the Punjab Entertainment Duty Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the
whole of the State of Punjab.
(3) It shall come
into force at once.
2. Definitions: - In this Act
unless the context otherwise requires:-
a)
Admission to an entertainment includes admission to any place in which
the entertainment is being held or is to be held and where television
exhibition is being provided with the aid of
any type of antenna with a cable networks attached to it or cable television in residential or
non-residential areas of which persons are required to make payment by way of
contribution or subscription or installation and connection charges or any manner,
whatsoever.
aa)
'antenna' means an apparatus which received television signals which
enable views to tune into transmissions including national or international
satellite transmissions and which is erected or installed for exhibition of
films or moving pictures or series of pictures by means of transmission of
television signal by wire where subscribers television sets at the residential
or non-residential place are linked by metallic coaxial cable or optio-fibre
cable to a central system called the head-end, on payment by the connection
charges or any other charges collected in any manner whatsoever.
aaa) 'cable television' means a system organized on payment by a connection holder of any contribution or subscription or installation and connection charges or any other charges collected in any manner whatsoever, for exhibition of films or moving picture or series of pictures by means of transmission of television signals by wire where subscriber's television set is linked by metallic coaxial cable or optio-fiber cable to a central system called the head-end, by using a video cassette or disc or both, recorder or player or similar such apparatus on which prerecorded vide cassettes or discs or both are played or replayed and the films or moving pictures or series of pictures which are viewed and heard on the television receiving set at a residential or non-residential place of a connection holder.
b)
Commissioner means the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Punjab for the
time being.
c)
Entertainment Tax Officer means the Excise and Taxation Officer
appointed as such under this Act.'
d)
'entertainment' includes any exhibition, performance, amusement, game,
sport, or race to which persons are ordinarily admitted on payment for
exhibition of films, or moving pictures or series of pictures which are shown
on the television receiving set, with
the aid of any type of antenna with a cable network attached to it or cable
television for which persons are reuired to make payment by way of contribution or subscription or installation
and connection charges or any other charges collected in any manner whatsoever.
e)
'payment for admission' includes-
i) any payment made
by a person admitted to any part of a place
entertainment and in a case where such person is subsequently admitted
to another part thereof for admission
to which an additional payment is required, such additional payment, whether
actually made or not.
ii) in case of free,
surreptitious, unauthorized or
concessional entry, whether with or without the knowledge of proprietor, the payment which would have
been made it the person concerned had been admitted on payment of the full charges ordinarily chargeable
for such admission.
iii) Any payment for
any purpose whatsoever connected with an entertainment which a person is
required to make as a condition of attending or continuing to attend the
entertainment in addition to the payment, if any, for admission to the
entertainment.
iv) Any payment made
by a person by way of contribution or subscription of installation and
connection charges or any other charges collected in any manner whatsoever for
television exhibition with the aid of any type of antenna with a cable net work
attached to it or cable television.
f)
'prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Act.
g) 'proprietor' in relation to any entertainment includes the owner, partner or a
person responsible for management thereof and any person responsible for or for the time being in charge of the
management for providing cable
connection from any type of antenna or cable television.
h) 'Government' means the Government of
the State of Punjab and
i) 'Ticket ' means the pass or token for
the purpose of securing admission to an entertainment.
Video parlours - Entertainment duty on parlours-video
parlours having more that 100 seats can well be equated with a regular cinema-nothing wrong to treat such a video
parlour for the purpose of entertainment duty at par with a regular
cinema-Video parlour having more than 99 seats and a video paralour having 99n
seats are two separate classes and could be differently treated -Location of
video parluor in a town or village having particular population has direct
nexus with the quantum of duty leviable. Punjab. Punjab Entertainment Duty Act
1955Section 3-A as amended by Haryana Act 3
of 1989. Mrs. Jyoti Video Theatre ,Jind v. State of Haryana 1993(3 )RRR
132(P&H).
Cinematograph-The word 'cinematograph'
includes V.C.R.-Licence under Act is essential-Stringent requirements for grant
of such licence, however, deprecated-Different yard-sticks adopted for V.C.R.
and regular cinemas for purposes of entertainment duty is legal. Punjab
Cinemas(Regulations) Act, 1952 as applicable to Haryana. Punjab
Cinemas(Regulations)Rules, 1952-
Rule 3(iv) Mrs. Jyoti Video Theatre, Jind v. State of Haryana 1993(3) RRR
132(P&H).
3. Duty
on payment for admission to entertainment: -
(1) A person admitted to an entertainment shall be liable to pay an entertainment duty at a rate (not exceeding one hundred and twenty five per centum of the payment of admission) which the Government may specify, by a notification in this behalf and the said duty shall be collected by the proprietor and rendered to the Government in the manner prescribed.
[(1-A) Not withstanding anything contained in
sub-section (1), the Government may, by notification, levy lumpsum
entertainment duty at a rate not exceeding: -
(a) eight thousand
rupees per annum in the local area of a City constituted as such under the
Punjab Municipal Act, 1911; and
(b) Six thousand rupees
per annum in areas other than the local areas specified in clause (a); in
respect of entertainments arranged by a proprietor by replay of video cassette
player or video record player and the lumpsum duty so levied shall be
recoverable from the proprietor.]
(2) A draft of the
proposed order specifying the rate of entertainments duty referred to in sub
section (1) shall be notified for the
information of all persons likely to be effected thereby and it shall take
effect only after the Government haws considered all objections received within
a period of thirty days from the date of such publications, and has notified
the same again with or without modification:
Provided that if the Government consider that such an order should
be brought into force at once, the final notification may issue without
previous publication.
Provided further that Government may impose an entertainments duty on complimentary tickets at a from that imposed on other kinds of payment for admission subject to the maximum specified in sub section (1).
(3) Until such time as the duty referred to in sub sections (1) and (2)
has been finally notified, the entertainments duty shall be levied at the
rates in force in this behalf
immediately before the commencement of this Act.
[(3-A)
Notwithstanding anything in this section, the amount of duty shall be
calculated to the nearest multiple of 5 naye paise by ignoring 2 naye paise or
less and counting more than 2 naye paise as 5 naye paise].
(4)
The final notification specifying the rates of entertainment duty shall
be laid before the[-] Legislature at the session immediately following its
publication.
[3-A. Entertainment duty is not leviable in case tax is paid under
Punjab Act 8 of 1954. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, no
entertainment duty shall leviable on the proprietor who is able to pay
entertainment tax under the Punjab Entertainment Tax (Cinematograph Shows) Act,
1954]
[(3-B) Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), (1A), (2)
and (3), in the case of entertainment provided with the aid of antenna or cable
television to a connection holder, the proprietor of such entertainment shall
pay entertainment duty at such rate per connection per month as the State
Government may specify from time to time by a notification in the Official
Gazette but not exceeding seventy-five rupees per month per connection.
4. Payment made in a consolidated sum: - Where the payment for admission to an
entertainment is made in a consolidated sum in the form of a subscription or
contribution to any society or a season ticket or a right of admission to an
entertainment or series of entertainments during a specified period, or a
privilege, right, or facility combined with the right of admission without further
payment, or a reduced charge, the entertainment duty shall be paid on the
amount of the consolidated sum but where the Entertainment Tax Officer is of
the opinion that the payment of a consolidated sum or any payment for a ticket includes payment for other
privileges, rights or facilities besides the admission riod when the duty has
not been in operation, they duty shall be charged on such amount as appears ton
the Entertainment Tax Officer to represent the right of admission to
entertainment for which a duty is payable.
5. Deposit of security by the proprietor: - The prescribed authority may, in the manner
prescribed, require the proprietor of any entertainment to deposit as security
for payment of entertainment duty under this Act, an amount not exceeding
[twenty thousand rupees] in a Government treasury, and the same shall be
deposited.
6. Entertainment Tax Officer and other taxing
authorities: - For carrying out the purposes of this Act,
the Government may appoint a person as Entertainment Tax Officer and such other
persons as it thinks fit to assist the Commissioner.
7. Posting of tables of rates of payments off admission
at conspicuous places :- The proprietor
of an entertainment shall, in the manner prescribed, exhibit at the place of
entertainment, the rates of the payment for admission and the amount of
entertainments duty payable on such rates.
8. Penalty for non-payment of duty: -
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, no
person shall enter an entertainment unless he is in possession of ticket or a
complimentary ticket or a pass or a badge supplied by the employer under this
Act and no person liable to pay entertainments duty shall so enter without having
paid, in the manner prescribed, the duty payable under this Act.
(2) A person who
enters an entertainment without permission or surreptitiously, with intent to
evade the duty payable under this Act shall, on conviction by a magistrate, be
punishable with fine which may extend to rupees 200 (rupees two hundreds) and,
in addition, be liable to pay such duty.
9. Admission of persons without payment :- Nothing in this Act shall apply to bona fide
employees of proprietor, are on duty in connection with the entertainment, or
the proprietor when on such duty.
10. Method of
levy: -
(1) Save as otherwise
provided by this Act no person shall be admitted to any entertainment where the
payment for admission is subject to entertainment duty except with ticket
stamped with an impressed, embossed, engraved or adhesive stamp (not used
before) issued by the Government for the purposes of revenue and denoting that
the proper entertainment duty been paid.
(2) The Government
may, on the application of the proprietor of any entertainment, in respect of
which the entertainment duty is payable, permit the proprietor on such conditions
as the Government may prescribe, to pay the entertainment duty-.
(a) by a consolidated
payment [not exceeding one hundred and twenty five per centum of the gross
payment for admission] to the entertainment at the rate in force during the
period concerned.
(b) in accordance
with the returns of the payment for admission to the entertainment;
(c) in accordance
with the results recorded by any mechanical contrivance that automatically
register the number of persons admitted.
(1) No entertainment
duty shall be levied on payment for admission to any entertainment where the
Commissioner is satisfied on application made in the behalf in the prescribed manner that the whole of
the net proceeds of the entertainment will be devoted to philanthropic,
charitable, educational or scientific purposes which have been approved as such
by the Government .
(2) Nothing in this
Act apply to any entertainment provided by the staff or students, or both of an
academic institution when the proceeds are intended for academic or charitable
purposes.
(3) The Government,
for promotion of peace and international goodwill or encouragement of arts and
crafts, sports or other public interest, by general or special order, exempt
any entertainment or class of entertainments from liability to pay [either
whole or any portion of] duty under
this Act.
(4) The
Government may, in the case of
entertainment by public cinematograph exhibition, by notification direct that
persons admitted to such an entertainment and occupying seats in the front rows
close to the screen up to such number or up to such proportion of the total
number of seats as may be specified in the notification shall be liable to pay
entertainment duty at such lower rate as may be specified therein, provided all
the front rows comprising seats up to such a number or proportion, as the case
may be, are closer to screen than every other row].
11-A.Appeal :-
(1) Any person aggrieved by an order
made by the prescribed authority under [-] section 14-A may, in prescribed
manner, appeal to such higher authority as may be prescribed within thirty days
of such order:
Provided
that no appeal shall be entertained by higher authority unless it is satisfied
that the amount of duty due and the penalty, if any, imposed on the person has
been paid.
Provided
further that if such higher authority is satisfied that the person is unable to
pay duty due or the penalty, if any, imposed or both, it may, for reasons to
recorded in writing, entertain the appeal without duty or penalty or both
having been paid.
(2)
Subject to such rules of procedure as
may be prescribed, the higher authority may pass on such appeal such orders as
it may think fir.
12. Powers of revision :- The Commissioner or
such other officer, as the Government may by notification, appoint in this
behalf may, of his own motion or on application made, call for the record of
any proceedings or order of any authority subordinate to him for the purpose of
satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety or such proceedings or
order, and may pass such order in reference thereto as he may deem fit.
[Provided
that the Commissioner or the other officer may, before deciding such
application, direct the applicant to deposit, in whole or in part the amount of
duty due, and penalty, if any, impose on him under this Act.]
13. Production and inspection of accounts and
documents: -
(1)
The proprietor of an entertainment
shall, on being required to do so by an officer authorized by the Government in
this behalf , produce before any officer of the Excise and Taxation Department,
not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector as may be prescribed, any accounts or
documents, relevant ton the sales of tickets including complimentary tickets
and realization of the entertainments duty as may be necessary for the purposes
of this Act.
(2)
If any officer or Government mentioned in sub section(1) has reason to suspect
that the proprietor of any entertainment is attempting to evade the payment of
an entertainments duty due from him under Act, he may, for reasons to be
recorded in writing, seize such accounts, registers or documents of the
proprietor, as may be necessary and shall grant a receipt for the same and
shall retain the same only for so long as may be necessary for examination
thereof.
14. Entry into and Inspection
of places of entertainments: -
(1)
Any officer not below such rank as may be prescribed, may enter into, inspect
and search any place of entertainment while the entertainment is proceeding at
any reasonable time, for the purpose of ensuring that the provisions of this
Act. (2) The proprietor of every entertainment shall give every reasonable
assistance to the aforesaid officer in the performance of his duties under
subsection (1).
[14-A. Power to impose penalties on proprietor of
entertainments :- (1) If
the proprietor of an entertainment -
(a) evades the
payment of any duty due under this Act, or
(b) obstructs any
officer making any inspection, a search or seizure under this Act, or
(c) acts in contravention
of, or fails to comply with any of the
provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder.
the
prescribed authority may after affording such proprietor a reasonable
opportunity of being heard direct him
to pay by way of penalty in addition to the duty due if any a sum not exceeding
[ten thousand rupees]
15. Cognizance of offences: -
(1) No Court shall take cognizance of an offence
under this Act except on a complaint made by a person authorized in this behalf
by the Government and no Court inferior to that of a Judicial Magistrate of the
first class shall be competent to try such an offences.
16. Power to compound
offences: - (1) The prescribed authority may, at any time, accept from a person,
who has committed an offence under this Act, by way of composition of such
offence, such of money not exceeding [-] fifty rupees or double the amount of
duty payable under this Act whichever is greater.
17. Recoveries :- Any sum due under
this Act shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
18. Delegation of Powers by the Government: -
(1)
Government may delegate all or any of its powers under this Act except those
conferred upon it by sub section (2) of section 10, section 20 and this
section, to any person or authority subordinate to it.
(2)
The exercise of any power delegated under sub-section (1) shall be subject to
such restrictions, or conditions, if any as may be laid down by the Government
and shall also be subject to control and revision by it.
19. Bar of certain proceedings: -
No
action shall lie against Government or any of its officer or servant for any
act done or purporting to be done in faith under this Act.
(1)
The State Government make rules generally carrying out the provisions of his
Act.
(2) In
particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power it
may make rules: -
(a) for the supply
and use of stamps or stamped tickets if required in connection with the levy of
entertainments duty or for the stamping of tickets sent to be stamped, and for
securing the defacement of stamps when used;
(b) for the use of
tickets covering the admission of more than one person and the calculation of
the duty thereon for the payment of the duty on the transfer from one part of a
place of entertainment to another.
(c) for controlling the use of mechanical
contrivances (including the prevention of the use of the same mechanical
contrivances for payment of a different amount) and for securing proper records
of admission by means of mechanical contrivances;
(d) for the checking
of the admission, the keeping of accounts and furnishing of returns by the
proprietors of entertainments in respect of which entertainment duty is payable
in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(e) for renewal of
damaged or spoiled stamps and for the procedure to be followed on applications
for refund;
(f) for the keeping
of account of all stamps used under this Act;
(g) for prescribing
the form of a ticket, pass or token authorizing admission to an entertainment.
(h) for the presentation
and disposal or application for exemption for payment of the entertainment duty or for the refund thereof;
(i) for the exemption
from the entertainments duty on military personnel in uniform.
(j) for the exemption
of entertainments duty under this Act and the power to be exercised by the
officers of Government in that behalf;
[(k) Omitted by
Punjab Act 10 of 1965, section 6(1)]
(l) for specifying
the authorties who would be competent to compound offences under section 16.
(m) for laying down
procedure for the hearing and disposal
of appeals under sections 11-A and applications under section 12 and all
other matters incidental thereto.]
(3)
All rules made under this Act shall be laid before [-] the State Legislature
during the session next ensuring after the publication thereof and may be
confirmed, amended, amended or revoked by it.
21. Repeal and Saving :-
The
Punjab Entertainment Duty Act, 1936 (Punjab Act III of 1936), is hereby repealed.
Not
withstanding any such repeal, anything done or any action taken
including any order, notification or rules made or issued in exercise of powers
conferred by or under the repealed Act shall to the extent of being consistent
with the provisions of this Act be deemed to have been done/taken in exercise
or powers conferred by or under this Act.
[The schedule Omitted by Punjab Act
32 of 1957, section 3]