Court asks Tata Sky, others to pay tax to Gujarat
By IANSMonday, January 3, 2011
GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat High Court has asked TataSky and other direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV service providers to deposit entertainment tax for July-September 2010 quarter with the state government.
In the directions made available Monday, the bench comprising Chief Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice Akil Kureshi directed TataSky Limited, Dish TV India Limited, Bharat Business Channel Limited and Bharti Telemedia Limited to deposit the tax due for the said quarter before Jan 17.
The court is hearing a case related to the question whether or not the DTH providers can be held liable to pay entertainment tax to the state government.
The court has also been requested to decide on whether or not the companies fall in the category of entertainment providers.
The petitioner companies approached the high court challenging an amendment to the entertainment tax provisions which enabled the government to levy tax on them for broadcast of entertainment channels.
The matter is slated to come up for final hearing Feb 14.
