The Karnataka High Court has issued notice on a single-screen theatre’s petition challenging the 2% cess on cinema tickets under the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Act, 2024, and will consider interim relief on September 30, the day the Act comes into force.
A seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, led by CJI Surya Kant, has begun hearing a reference made in 1999 in Arjun Flour Mills v. State of Odisha, on whether a State legislature is competent to impose a surcharge, additional tax, levy or cess calculated on the basis of a validly levied sales or purchase tax, or whether such a levy falls outside Entry 54 of the State List and encroaches on the Union’s power to tax income under Entry 82. The Centre submitted that the questions have become largely academic after GST in 2017.
On Tuesday (9th April): The Supreme Court questioned the Center’s stand on why states shouldn’t have authority to regulate industrial alcohol to prevent misuse. The matter, referred to a nine-judge bench in 2010, revolves around conflicting powers between the Center and states. The hearing remains inconclusive and will resume on April 16.
