The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the State government to ensure that the benefits of Entertainment Tax (ET) waiver given to Tamil films are passed on to viewers.

Justice R. Mahadevan issued a direction on a petition moved by advocate K.J. Saravanan seeking to quash a circular of May 6, 2014, issued by the Principal Secretary, Commercial Tax and Registration Department, regarding collection of maximum admission rate to Tamil films when there was tax exemption.

According to senior advocate P. Wilson, counsel for the petitioner, the government granted exemption from the entertainment tax to the films that promoted Tamil language and culture. The G.O had specifically stated that special tickets indicating the reduced price after the exemption of ET should be printed and sealed by officers concerned. While so, the circular simply stated that the theatre owners should not collect the ET from viewers for the exempted movies, and if they did so it would amount to violation of provisions of the Tamil Nadu Entertainment Tax Act.

When the petition came up for hearing on Thursday, the court, rejecting the contention that the exemption was for the benefit of the industry or theatre owners, said the benefit should be passed on to viewers as the burden fell on them.

The judge also directed the government to issue appropriate orders within four weeks to ensure that the tax burden was not passed on to the viewers.