Do you remember weeks ago when the Karnataka government imposed cess on movies?
It came with a lot of stark responses and there is finally an update.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has given his approval to the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill, 2024. This new law introduces a cess of up to 2 percent on movie tickets and OTT subscription fees to support cinema and cultural artists in the state.
The bill was passed by the Karnataka Assembly in July 2024 and received the Governor’s assent on September 23. Under this law, the “Cine and Cultural Activists Welfare Cess” will be applied to cinema tickets and OTT subscription fees. The cess will range between 1 to 2 percent, and the government will review and revise this rate every three years.
An officer also explained that since GST is already applied to movie tickets, the new cess will be added on top of that. So, it is going to be a lot more expensive than that.
For OTT platforms, the government is working on how to collect this cess, likely linking it to GST charges.
The money collected through this cess will go to the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists’ Welfare Board.
So this is going to be a difficult time for the cinema goers. Let’s see if it affects the box office numbers in Karnataka.