Movie-goers might have to spend more on movie tickets in Maharashtra as the state government is running short of money and has proposed to hike the annual license fee of theatres and multiplexes. The theatre owners are likely to oppose the proposal put forward by the home department.
Depending upon the seating capacity of movie theatres, the license fee hike will be up to ₹15,000 from the existing fee ranging between ₹30 to Rs ₹200. The hike is being scaled through a notification issued to the Maharashtra Cinemas (Regulation) Rules 1966 on June 25.
The license fee for theatres was last revised in 2004. Earlier, a hike in fee of orchestra bars, discos, etc has been fruitful, according to officials. The decision to hike the license fee of theatres now would generate about ₹10 crore to the state treasury.
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Theatre owners, on the other hand, believe that the hike will take a toll on their business as they don’t consider themselves to be in a position to bear any financial losses now. To make up for the rising overheads, Deepak Kudale, president of Cinema Owners and Exhibitors Association of India demanded permission to increase service charges.
Maharashtra has about 600 single-screen theatres and 76 multiplexes.
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