Cinemas (Regulation) Act, 1958 (Kerala) – Local Authorities Entertainments Tax Act, 1961 (Kerala) – Section 3C, 6(4) – Levy and Collection of Cess – Renewal of Cinema Theatre Licenses – Requirement of No Due Certificate from Kerala Cultural Activists’ Welfare Fund Board.
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice S. Manu
W.P.(C) Nos. 34632, 35818, 37887 of 2015, 39110 of 2016 & 10669 of 2024; Decided on: 30th June 2025
Petitioners challenged the insistence by licensing authorities for production of No Due Certificate for cess remittance under S.3C as a precondition for license renewal – Held, S.6(4) of the Entertainments Tax Act, with its non obstante clause, overrides provisions of the Kerala Cinemas (Regulation) Act, mandating remittance of entertainment tax and cess under S.3C as a precondition for license renewal – S.3C(6) construes ‘cess’ as ‘tax’ for the purposes of S.6(4), making the requirement legally valid – Challenge against notices demanding cess remittance also dismissed, as the constitutional validity of S.3C was upheld by the Division Bench in Kerala Film Exhibitors Federation v. State of Kerala [2025 SCC OnLine Kerala 915] – Writ petitions dismissed.
For Petitioners : Advs. P. Ravindran (Sr. Advocate); K. Praveen Kumar; T.G. Rajendran; Maitreyi Sachidananda Hegde; Anjali Anil A & Ashish Antony Francis
For Respondents : Advs. Sudhi Vasudevan (Sr. Advocate); I.V. Pramod; R. Azad Babu; Jose Jones Joseph; M.K. Chandra Mohan Das; V.K. Biju; Santhosh P. Poduval; P. Venugopal; M. Sasindran; P.K. Vijayamohanan; Sayed Mansoor Bafakhy Thangal; Millu Dandapani; P.P. Thajudheen; Shilpa Sathish & Tony Augustine (Government Pleader)
LAWYERS DIRECTORY
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