Cinema ticket rates to be increased from today onwards, normal tickets to cost Rs 130

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Following the government decision to levy an entertainment tax in addition to the GST, film theatres across the state will witness an increase in ticket rates from today onwards. As per the government order, the rates of tickets belonging to different classes will be increased by around Rs 10 to Rs 30. It is learnt that normal tickets will cost around Rs 130. Earlier, the theatre owners had approached the court against the government's move to introduce entertainment tax.

When the GST came to effect in 2017, a ticket worth Rs 100 was charged 18% as tax and tickets which cost more were charged 28% tax. However, the central government was soon forced to reduce the taxes to 12% and 18% respectively following pressure from the Film Federation of India. While a normal Rs 100 ticket included welfare charge and service charge, the addition of 12% GST and 1% flood cess increased its price to Rs 113. Later, Finance minister Thomas Isaac reintroduced 10% entertainment tax in the name of Local body entertainment tax which has caused a further hike in ticket prices.