Online booking charges are not part of admission payment and are not taxable as entertainment tax under the statute.

Online booking charges collected by cinema owners were held to be outside the statutory concept of "payment for admission" under the Tamil Nadu Entertainment Tax Act, 1939. The Court applied the principle that entertainment tax under Section 3(7)(c) attaches only to sums a person must pay as a condition for entering or continuing to attend the entertainment, and not to an optional, separate service. The taxable measure remained the ticket price for admission, while the internet booking fee was an independent charge. Accordingly, the separate booking fee was not exigible to entertainment tax.

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Issues: (i) Whether online booking charges collected by cinema owners form part of "payment for admission" and are exigible to entertainment tax under the Tamil Nadu Entertainment Tax Act, 1939.

Analysis: The levy under Section 3(7)(c) of the Tamil Nadu Entertainment Tax Act, 1939 applies only to payments which a person is required to make as a condition for attending or continuing to attend the entertainment. Online booking charges are an optional and separate service, not a mandatory payment for gaining entry into the cinema hall. The taxable measure is the ticket cost paid for admission, and not a separate charge for internet booking facility. The principle that tax can be levied only on the amount intrinsically connected with entry to the entertainment, and not on an independent facility, governs the issue. The reassessment orders were also based on the same understanding, but the separate booking fee remained outside the statutory definition of payment for admission.

Conclusion: Online booking charges are not includible in "payment for admission" and are not subject to entertainment tax under Section 3(7)(c) of the Tamil Nadu Entertainment Tax Act, 1939.

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