Distinct tax benefits allow withdrawal from exemption and valid election of consolidated taxation when not used simultaneously.

Section 29 exemption from entertainment tax and section 6(2) consolidated taxation operate in different fields and confer distinct benefits. An assessee may discontinue the exemption and validly elect consolidated tax under section 6(2), provided the two benefits are not availed simultaneously and the elected mode has not been lawfully withdrawn. On the facts, the petitioners used the exemption only for the first year, then opted for consolidated tax with acceptance by the competent authority. A recovery order based on the mistaken assumption that the earlier arrangement had been cancelled was therefore unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether the petitioners, after availing the initial exemption as a Janta Cinema under section 29, could validly discontinue that exemption and opt for consolidated tax under section 6(2), and whether the impugned recovery and reassessment were sustainable.

Analysis: Section 29 grants a general exemption from entertainment tax subject to conditions, while section 6(2) permits an assessee to elect payment of tax in consolidated form. The two provisions operate in different fields and confer distinct benefits. On the facts, the petitioners availed the exemption only for the first year, thereafter discontinued it, and the competent authority accepted their application for consolidated tax under section 6(2). The record showed that the petitioners did not simultaneously enjoy both benefits. The impugned order proceeded on the erroneous premise that the earlier order under section 6 stood cancelled and was passed mechanically on the basis of general instructions, without proper consideration of the petitioners' entitlement.

Conclusion: The petitioners were entitled to pay consolidated tax under section 6(2) after discontinuing the exemption under section 29, and the impugned recovery order was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where exemption and consolidated tax are distinct statutory benefits, an assessee may relinquish the exemption and validly opt for consolidated taxation, provided both benefits are not availed simultaneously and the elected mode is not lawfully withdrawn.

---