Vicky Kaushal in a still from Uri: The Surgical Strike

Uri: The Surgical Strike, that is wreaking havoc at the box-office, has been declared tax-free in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The film will be exempted from the State GST and the viewers will have to continue paying the Central GST. It means that of the total 18 per cent tax levied on movie tickets priced above Rs 100, the audience will have to pay only 9 per cent. For movie tickets priced below Rs 100, the cinegoers will have to pay only 6 per cent tax instead of the usual 12 per cent.

Film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the big news on his Twitter account on Tuesday. Mr Adarsh wrote on the micro-blogging platform, “#UriTheSurgicalStrike declared tax-free in Uttar Pradesh... Exempted from state GST. #UP #Uri #TaxFree”

This is certainly a good news for the makers of Uri: The Surgical Strike as the move is likely to boost the film’s business significantly. In its third week, the tickets of Uri: The Surgical Strike are already priced at much lower rates than that of the new releases and now with the SGST having been exempted, they will get even lower.

In such a scenario, the film may become the first choice of several moviegoers. No great news for the makers of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi and Thackeray that hit the screens last Friday. (Uri box office collection Day 18: Vicky Kaushal’s film refuses to slow down, total Rs 160.78 crore)

Uri: The Surgical Strike, headlined by Vicky Kaushal, features Paresh Rawal, Yami Gautam, Rajit Kapur, Mohit Raina and Kirti Kulhari in important roles. The film, written and directed by debutant Aditya Dhar, hit the screens on January 11. It is financed by Ronnie Screwvala under the film production banner of RSVP Movies.