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‘We have been ignored’: Entertainment industry on expectations from Budget 2025

All eyes are on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who will be reading out the Budget plans for 2025-2026 on February 1, Saturday in the Parliament. The budget plan for different sectors from health, defence, railways, income tax, and entertainment among others will be laid out tomorrow. Ahead of the budget session in the parliament, mid-day reached out to some stakeholders in the entertainment industry to understand what their expectations are from the forthcoming budget. 

‘Rationalise GST’ 

PVR INOX, one of India’s biggest chain of multiplex cinemas, would like to see a rational on the GST on cinema tickets. “We urge the government to rationalize GST on cinema tickets to enhance affordability and drive footfalls while also simplifying the tax framework to reduce litigation and improve the ease of doing business. A more predictable and streamlined regulatory environment will enable sustained investments in cinema infrastructure, fostering long-term growth for the industry,” Gaurav Sharma, Chief Financial Officer, PVR INOX Ltd said. 

On the other hand, film trade analyst Atul Mohan says that the GST has brought uniformity in taxation on ticket prices across streams as earlier the taxation on tickets varied from state to state with Maharashtra alone levying 40 percent. “Some states also levied 100 percent tax. But that has been changed with the GST in place bringing uniformity on the tax front on ticket prices,” he said. 

‘No hope from the budget’ 

But, Mohan does not have much hope from the budget for the entertainment sector. Ask him why and he shares, “Every year around 4-5 months before the budget session, a delegation from the entertainment industry visits the central government and expresses their concerns regarding the business. However, no such thing happened last year,” he said adding that unless one speaks up about the problems, the government will not address it. He stressed that the glittery box office numbers seen in 2024 will paint a picture that all is well in the industry and none need to be addressed. 

Girish Johar, producer and film business expert hopes for rebates in the cinema and exhibition segment, administration expenses and day-to-day maintenance at the production level. “We have been ignored in the past couple of years. If something comes up in the budget this year, it will be a big boost to the soft power that is being appreciated in the country.”

`Single window clearance`

Another issue that stakeholders have commonly expressed is the need to ease process of shooting in the country. While states have been providing subsidies to filmmakers to shoot as it also boosts tourism and local employment, experts believe more can be done to ease the process. “A single window clearance should be promoted so shooting can happen conveniently,”  Johar said adding, “The government has taken steps to provide subsidy to shooting at live locations but a little proactiveness and little more concession will definitely add to it.”

“From the consumer level, people need more disposable income,” he added saying that a lesser GST on tickets, food and beverages will only be enticing to movie goers. 

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