The Hindu Business Line : Kerala bans excess ticket rates for new movies

Thiruvananthapuram June 17 The Kerala Government has cancelled an earlier order allowing theatre owners to charge higher ticket rates for new film releases.

The Minister for Local Administration, Mr Paloli Mohamed Kutty, said here on Saturday that the Government had come to know that theatre owners were charging five or six times the original rates for some films in the light of the order.

COMPLAINTS

Besides, the Government had received many complaints from the public and several organisations pleading for putting a stop to the practice of charging higher than the original rates.

It was in the light of these that the Government decided to cancel the earlier order, the Minister said and added that strict action would be taken against those theatre owners who charged excess rates.

Mr Mohamed Kutty said that the Government had decided to give relief to the Tamil film Sivaji from the stipulation that 10 per cent more tax could be levied on films of other languages.

COURT RULING

However, the High Court had ruled that a uniform tax should be levied on all language films.

The Government had issued an order that only fixed tax should be levied on Sivaji and all other films irrespective of the language.

The local bodies should ensure that all the theatres implemented the order, the Minister said.

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