Entertainment tax exemption upheld where advance certificate production was impossible and later filing was accepted as sufficient compliance.

Exemption from entertainment tax was held available where compliance with the advance-production condition for the film development corporation certificate was not literally possible because the certificate could issue only after release of the film. Since the assessee furnished the required certificates after release and the denial rested solely on timing, the assessment orders could not stand. The orders were also treated as arbitrary because similarly placed theatres were allowed to file the certificates later, with no convincing basis shown for discriminatory treatment. Delay in moving the Court was not treated as a bar on the facts, and the exemption was upheld while the consequential proceedings were set aside.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to exemption from entertainment tax under the Government Order despite not furnishing the film development corporation certificate in advance, and whether the assessment orders denying the exemption on that ground could stand.

Analysis: The exemption was granted subject to conditions requiring advance intimation and production of the producer affidavit and film development corporation certificate. The certificate could issue only after release of the film, because the low-budget character of a film depended on the number of prints actually released. The condition of advance production was therefore incapable of literal compliance. The assessee had produced the certificates after release, and the denial of exemption rested only on the timing of production. The challenged orders were also found arbitrary, as no convincing basis was shown for singling out the assessee while similarly placed theatres were allowed to furnish the certificates later. Delay in approaching the Court was not treated as a bar to relief in the circumstances.

Conclusion: The assessee was held entitled to the exemption, and the assessment orders and consequential proceedings were unsustainable.

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