The court upheld the discretionary power of the authorities to grant exemption from payment of entertainment tax based on compliance with the conditions stipulated in the policy, and emphasized that such exemption is a concession and not a matter of right.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying for a writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records comprised in proceedings of the respondent 2 bearing No.303/Pu.Na./Va.pi.1/A4/2015 dated 11.02.2015 and quash the same insofar as it pertains to the Tamil Film “I” and consequently directing the respondents 1 to 3 herein to grant exemption from payment of Entertainment Tax for the Tamil film “I” starring Vikram, Amy Jackson, Music by A.R.Rahman, Directed by Mr.Shankar towards the exhibition of the same within the Union Territory of Puducherry.)

The order of rejection rejecting the claim of the writ petitioner for grant of tax exemption for their movie, namely, “I”, is under challenge in the present writ petition.

2. The petitioner is the proprietor of Sri Vijalakshmi Films, carrying out business in the Districts of Cuddalore, Vullipuram and in the Union Territory of Puducherry. The petitioner produced the movie called “I” and submitted application for grant of exemption for payment of entertainment tax. The application was filed on the ground that the movie is named in Tamil language and therefore, entitled to seek entertainment tax exemption based on the Government orders passed. The application was considered by the competent authorities and the request for exemption from payment of entertainment tax was rejected on the ground that the name of the film “I” cannot be construed as Tamil language within the parameters fixed in the Government Order and therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to get exemption from payment of entertainment tax.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner mainly contended that the word “I” in Tamil can be considered as exclamation and it conveys a definite meaning and thus, the decision taken by the authorities are erroneous and thus, the order impugned is to be set aside. It is further contended that in wall posters, advertisements, movie, etc., the petitioner used the Tamil word “I” and therefore, they are entitled for exemption from payment of entertainment tax, as per the Government Orders issued.

4. The learned counsel for the fifth respondent made a submission that the writ petition is not maintainable in view of the fact that, exemption from payment of entertainment tax was granted to the theatre owners and not to the distributors. Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled to get exemption, since the petitioner is a distributor admittedly. Thus, the writ petition is to be dismissed.

5. The learned Senior Counsel appearing for the respondents 2 and 3 made a submission that the Government issued orders granting exemption to the cine films with titles in Tamil and Telugu by payment of entertainment tax in G.O.Ms.No.30/LAS/ Local Administration Secretariat dated 19.06.2007. Pursuant to the decision taken by the Government of Puducherry, an expert committee was constituted to ensure as to whether the title is really in Tamil / Telugu or otherwise. The Committee was constituted vide G.O.Ms.50/LAS/2007 Local Administration Secretariat dated 10.09.2007.

6. The Expert Committee gone into the merits and demerits of the claim set out by the petitioner along with other applications and had taken a decision that the petitioner''s movie, viz., “I”, cannot be considered as a Tamil title and therefore, not entitled to seek exemption from payment of entertainment tax. The recommendations of the Expert Committee was accepted by the Government and accordingly, the application submitted by the petitioner was rejected.

7. The word “I” is a letter in Tamil language i.e., “caph; vGj;J”. No doubt, the letter “I” may convey certain meaning, since Tamil being an Ancient language. Even in ''Thirukkural'', the letter “I” has been used by the poet “Tiruvalluvar” to convey some meaning. However, in the context of the film, whether the word “I” may be construed as Tamil title or not is to be decided on merits and with reference to the contents in the movie.

8. The Expert Committee c