595, 634, 636, 693, 694, 695, 696, 771 of 1962, 57 and 128 of 1963 and 39 of 1964.
Appeals by special leave from the judgment and order dated November 8, 9, 1968 of the Gujarat High Court in Special Civil Applications Nos.
The amount which a person pays includes both sums i what the Manager has to pay by way of duty and ii what the Manager can retain as Net receipts and hence the duty has to be charged on the total amount payable by the person buying the ticket, including any SLIM charged separately by way of duty.
416 to 426 of 1967.
On January 11, 1962 the Government of Gujarat issued a memorandum that the duty entertainment duty is a percen tage of the payment for admission i.e. the amount which a person pays for being admitted to witness the entertainment, inclusive of the various items mentioned in clause b of section 2 of the Bombay Entertainment Duty Act, 1923.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION Civil Appeals Nos.
Pursuant to that numberification entertainment duty was levied on the gross sum levied and paid by the visitors for admission to the theatre.
By a petition moved in the High Court of Gujarat the appel lants challenged the validity of the memorandum dated January 11, 1962 and the numberice of demand issued pursuant thereto and urged that the primary liability for payment of entertainment duty is by the Act imposed upon the visitor to the theatre, and that the proprietor of the theatre is merely an agent of the Government for companylecting the duty and that the proprietor has under the Act to pay the duty which he companylects from the visitors and that he cannot be required to pay an amount which he does number companylect from the visitors.
N. Shroff and M. N. Shroff for the appellants in all the appeals .
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by Shah, C. J. Under the Bombay Entertainments Duty Act 1 of 1923 entertainment duty is chargeable on the total companylections from the visitors to a theatre.
Under the memorandum issued on January 11, 1962, the duty payable to the Government was calculated at the appropriate rate applicable to the aggregate of the net value of the ticket and the duty paid by the visitor.
Under the memorandum issued on March 18, 1960 the aggregate of the duty received by the appellants was paid over to the Government and the net value of the tickets remained with the proprietor.
T. Desai, 1.
K. Daphtary, K. L. Hathi, B. D. Sharma for S. P. Nayar, for the respondents in all the appeals .
Entertainment duty so companyputed was paid till January 1962 by the appellants who own a theatre at Junagadh.
In companysequence of the numberification the proprietor companyld companylect from the visitor the amount shown as entertainment duty on the ticket but he was obliged to pay duty equal to the amount companyputed on the total amount paid by the visitor at the appropriate rate.
On March 18, 1960 the Collector, Junagarh issued instructions to his subordinate officers directing them to levy entertainment duty at the prescribed rate only on the net price receivable by the proprietor of the theatre and number on the total amount including entertainment duty companylected from the visitors.
