Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce on Thursday said that the reopening of cinemas would not be possible till the government declared a bailout package for the industry hit hard by the pandemic crisis.
Even though the Union government had permitted reopening cinema halls with 50% occupancy from October 15, the theatres in Kerala would not be able to resume operations with the present rate of entertainment tax and GST (Goods and Services Tax) slabs on ticket collections, it said.
K. Vijayakumar, president of the chamber, requested the government to issue a direction to the local bodies to stop collecting the entertainment tax on movie tickets. The present slab of 12% GST on tickets that cost less than ₹100 and 18% on tickets above ₹100 should also be reviewed in view of the financial uncertainties triggered by the COVID-19 crisis, he said.
Power bills
The Film chamber said that the Kerala State Electricity Board had imposed fixed power charges on theatre owners despite the cinema halls remaining closed for nearly 210 days since March. Mr. Vijayakumar said that the fixed charge was around ₹45,000 for a single-screen facility. The reopening of cinemas would incur additional expenses on the owners as an estimated ₹3 lakh to ₹4 lakh was required to carry out maintenance and cleaning work, he said.
The chamber representatives said that an economic bailout package was inevitable to save the industry from a major crisis. “Despite our repeated requests, the government has not yet responded to our demands,” they said.
