KAILASH TALKIES Vs. STATE & ORS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By all these writ petitions, the petitioners cinema owners have approached this Court challenging the impugned orders passed by the Dy. Commissioner (Administration), Commercial Taxes under the provisions of Scheme for Composition of Entertainment Tax, 1999 published by the State Government vide notification dtd.22.5.1999 in supersession of the previous Composition Scheme of 1987 under the provisions of Rajasthan Entertainment and Advertisement Act, 1957 (herienafter referred to as the Act and the Scheme). The facts are illustratively taken from SBCWP No.8518/2008 Kailash Talkies V/s State of Rajasthan.

(2.) Clause 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 14 of the said new Entertainment Tax Composition Scheme, 1999 and preamble of th said Scheme relevant for the present controversy are reproduced hereunder for ready reference:

(3.) The Dy. Commissioner (Administration), the authority competent to pass these orders as per Clause 4 aforesaid with prior approval of the Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, passed the orders on 4.8.1999 vide Annex.1 in the case of present petitioners determining the composition again for the period from 22.5.1999 to 31.3.2000, the first financial year covered by the said new Scheme of 1999 and while determining the composition amount at Rs.30,495/- as per Clause 4 reproduced above further applied proviso to said Clause 4 and jacked up the monthly composition amount further to Rs.46,990/- on the basis of said proviso which stipulates that those cinemas, which had been availing of the benefit of old composition scheme and later opted out of it, shall, if they again avail of the benefit of new composition scheme, they will be required to pay the composition amount not less than the amount of composition determined for them under the Old Scheme of 1987 when they were operating under said Scheme of 1987. Since in this case, the monthly amount of composition determined under the present Scheme of 1999 otherwise was found to be lesser than the monthly composition amount under the Old Scheme of 1987, taking help of aforesaid proviso to Clause 4, the said authority raised the monthly amount of composition in the last para of initial order passed in their cases in the year 1999.