Recently, in response to an RTI filed by Hyderabad-based Forum Against Corruption asking whether BookMyShow was authorised to “levy or take special charges on consumers calling it internet usage fee”, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed that BookMyShow was given “no such authorisation”. However, moviegoers are still paying this extra fee when they book tickets online. Following the RBI’s response, Forum Against Corruption moved a consumer court in Hyderabad against BookMyShow, PVR, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s IT Department for overcharging customers. The hearing for the case began on March 23. While PVR and BookMyShow’s legal teams have asked for time to submit their response, no one from the ministry attended the hearing. The next hearing is scheduled for April 30. While BookMyShow maintains that they are “entitled to charge” this extra fee for providing this service, the RBI states that “merchants are required to pay this fee to the banks for online transactions.”(First ticket image): A screenshot from BookMyShow highlighting the internet handling fees levied for a single ticket(Second ticket image): A screenshot from PVR’s mobile ticket booking app. PVR levies an internet handling fee under its ‘taxes and fees’ sectionWhen asked about the convenience fee, a BookMyShow spokesperson said, “We cannot offer any comment on this matter as it is sub judice.” While PVR, Wave and Cinepolis did not respond to our queries, INOX and Carnival Cinemas refused to comment on the issue. Similarly, even though tickets for single-screen cinemas are sold online, their owners and managers refused to comment. Shaaminder Mallik, a Delhi- based distributor, said, “It is not illegal for cinemas to charge moviegoers a service fee for booking tickets online.”The RBI’s response also said that the internet usage fee was a violation of the RBI’s Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) regulations. MDR is a payment gateway fee paid by the merchant to the bank for accepting customer payments via debit or credit cards. The RBI said that the fee has to be paid to banks by merchants (in this case, BookMyShow or the cinema portal) for online transactions. But this fee is being charged to the moviegoer as a ‘convenience fee’.Multiple complaints against cinema halls and BookMyShow for charging an internet handling fee have been filed on the Indian Consumer Complaints Forum. Even though all of them are posted in the ‘resolved queries’ section on the forum, in a response to a query, BookMyShow responded, “The internet handling fee is a service charge that we are entitled to charge for providing customers with the convenience of booking tickets from their comfort zone, without having to access physical points of sale. The internet handling fee is our bread and butter. It’s how we make our money. We always charged a fee, which was levied for online bookings. A notification prohibited us to do so for a while, but since the courts have stayed it, we’ve resumed charging it and try keeping it reasonable.”Firdaus ul Hasan, producer and President, Film Federation of India (FFI), questions why customers are not willing to pay for a service they wish to use, saying, “The exhibitors are only giving moviegoers an option to book tickets online. Is the amount they are charging exorbitant? Are you facing hiccups in booking tickets online? They are charging moviegoers for a service they are providing. If service is not up to the mark, then exhibitors are at fault, but if it is convenient for you, then why not pay the nominal convenience fee?”Sakshi Mehra, a Delhi based exhibitor who has cinema halls in UP, says, “I understand that the audience doesn’t want to pay an additional fee. It is justified. But I would like to know why someone book their ticket online if they don’t want to pay the extra fee? The fee is only charged for online bookings. This is an extra option. It is not mandatory to book your tickets online. We don’t charge a convenience fee at the ticket counter.”