The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on February 25 tabled a budget which indicated a plan to mobilise Rs. 400-500 crore by levying entertainment tax on cinemas and other entities, once the exemption runs out in September 2026. In 2016-17, the civic body had collected Rs. 376 crore from entertainment tax levied in Bombay city.
The BMC budget document stated that as per the amendment to Maharashtra Entertainment Duty Act, the responsibility for collecting entertainment tax, previously levied by the state government, had been entrusted to the local authorities. It also said that the state revenue and forest department had extended the entertainment tax exemption from September 16, 2017 to September 30, 2026, and accordingly, a proposal had been submitted to the urban development department.