New Delhi: The Central government has made it mandatory for multiplexes to shift to an electronic ticketing system to check possible evasion of goods and services tax (GST).
This move will bringing down the curtain on the colouredor paper tickets that few cine complexes were still using.
Registered multiplexes shall be required to issue a tax invoice electronically and for this purpose the electronic ticket issued by them shall be deemed to be a tax invoice, government officials said.
With most multiplexes led by PVR, the largest player, having already implemented e-ticketing, tax consultants said that the move was more symbolic with many viewing it as a precursor to extending the mandate to single-screen theatres in the coming months.
With the GST council decision, multiplexes are also seen to have become the test case for electronic invoices for B2C businesses, something that was required only for business-to-business (B2B) transactions so far.
The government also decided to extend the tenure of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority by another two years apart from tightening rules to mandate a penalty of 10% on the profiteering amount if the money is not deposited within 30 days of the order being issued.