Minister for Cinematography Talasani Srinivas Yadav said producers and distributors would benefit if the government itself sold the tickets

The government is seriously contemplating a ban the present system of online cinema ticket sale and will itself take up online ticket sale.

Minister for Cinematography Talasani Srinivas Yadav said producers and distributors would benefit if the government itself sold the tickets. However, he did not indicate from when the government planned to implement the scheme. He said there were reports of GST evasion by the websites offering tickets online and this could be curbed if the government monitored the sale of tickets through its own system.

In an informal chat with reporters in the Assembly, Mr Yadav said the government planned to ensure 8 to 10 rows and 18 to 20 lines of seats in all theatres. However, he did not explain the reason for the new system.

He said the Film Development Corporation would be asked to create a website for tickets and private players would be given a link to sell tickets under the supervision of the corporation.

The minister claimed that special drive for taxes on Race Course had yielded higher taxes. Earlier, the government got ₹30 lakh per annum but it has gone up to ₹3 crore now.