CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has held that the mere use of a Tamil letter as the title of a movie does not make it eligible for entertainment tax exemption. The petitioner, G Sundararajan, had sought tax exemption for the film 'I' starring Vikram.
Questioning the locus standi of the petitioner, who is a distributor, Justice SM Subramaniam noted that tax exemptions are given for encouraging filmmakers to use Tamil title for their works. The concession can never be claimed as a 'matter of right' and it could be extended if the authorities are satisfied and the conditions are complied with, the court said.
"...mere using the Tamil letter in a film cannot be a ground to grant exemption from payment of entertainment tax by the High Court in exercise of the powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India," the judge said in a recent order.
Justice SM Subramaniam also noted that the expert committee had gone into the merits of an application for tax exemption elaborately and considered the contents in the movie and finally formed an opinion that the title "I" cannot be considered as a Tamil title for giving the benefit.