Levying of tax on DTH, cable connections to be delayed

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 27

A state government’s move to levy revised entertainment tax on direct-to-home (DTH) and cable connections is set to be delayed.

Reason? The Presidential consent is a must for the draft of the proposed Punjab Entertainments and Amusements Taxes (Levy and Collection by Local Bodies) Bill, 2017, before it is tabled in the Vidhan Sabha.

“Being in the Concurrent List, the Bill has to get the Presidential consent. As a result, the very purpose of levying the revised entertainment tax at the earliest has been defeated,” said a government functionary.

Earlier, there was a move to bring in an ordinance to be sent to the Punjab Governor before it was passed in the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha.

The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) pointed out the technical hitch when it received a copy of the Cabinet’s October 16 decision to impose entertainment tax of Rs 5 (down from Rs 60) per DTH connection and Rs 2 per cable connection in urban and rural areas.

The government functionary feared the Bill was unlikely to be passed in the winter session of the Assembly as it would take time for getting the Presidential nod. “Only if the state pursues the case, it can be tabled in the winter session.”

When finally notified, the amendment to the Punjab Entertainments and Amusements Taxes (Levy and Collection by Local Bodies) Act, 2017, will replace the entertainment tax system under the GST regime.

Sources said Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had been for the past two months pushing for the amendment so that the cable mafia could be reined in. This will enable him to nail down the cable mafia that has been reportedly evading tax and bring on record the political connection of Fastway Transmissions Private Limited, a company which Sidhu claims enjoyed the patronage of the previous SAD-BJP government.