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Short title.
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1 This Ordinance may be cited as the Entertainment Tax Ordinance.
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Imposition of entertainment tax
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2.
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(1) Every local authority shall have power, by resolution, to impose and levy a tax (hereinafter referred to as the ” entertainment tax “) on payments for admission to entertainments held in the area within the administrative limits of such authority at such rate or rates as may be specified in such resolution. The entertainment tax may be imposed at different rates for different amounts of payments for admission, but so however that the rate applicable in the case of any such amount shall not be less than five per centum or more than twenty-five per centum of the amount.
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(2) Every resolution under subsection (1) shall be submitted to the Minister for approval and, if so approved, shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of such publication or on such later date as may be specified in such resolution.
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Payments subject to the tax.
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3. Where a resolution imposing an entertainment tax is in operation in any area, every payment for admission to any entertainment to which this Ordinance applies and which is held in that area shall, save as otherwise provided in section 8, or section 9, be subject to the entertainment tax so imposed.
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Tax labels to be issued for the purposes of the tax.
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4.
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(1) For the purposes of the charging and payment of entertainment tax, labels to be called tax labels shall be issued by the proper officer of every local authority by whom the tax is imposed. Each tax label shall be of such value as may be specified thereon and shall bear the name of such authority and a facsimile of the signature of such proper officer.
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(2) No tax label shall be issued by the proper officer of any local authority under subsection (1)-
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(a) to any person other than the proprietor of an entertainment; or
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(b) to any proprietor of an entertainment except upon the payment by such proprietor of the value of the label.
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Admission to entertainment to be by ticket with a tax label attached.
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5.
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(1) No person shall be admitted for payment to any entertainment, the payment for admission to which is subject to entertainment tax, except on a ticket to which is affixed an unused tax label or unused tax labels, issued under section 4 by the proper officer of the local authority by whom the tax is imposed, and equivalent in value to the amount of tax chargeable in respect of that payment.
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(2) The provisions of subsection (1) shall not apply in the case of any entertainment the payment for admission to which is subject to entertainment tax, if the proprietor of the entertainment has made arrangements, approved by the proper officer of the local authority by whom the tax is imposed, for furnishing returns of the payments for admission to the entertainment and has given security up to an amount and in a manner approved by such proper officer for the payment of the tax.
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Tax how charged and paid.
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6. The entertainment tax chargeable in respect of any payment for admission which is subject to the tax shall, if the provisions of subsection (1) of section 5 are applicable in the case of such admission, be paid by means of an unused tax label or labels affixed to a ticket as provided in that subsection, and shall, if the provisions of that subsection are not so applicable, be calculated and paid on the number of admissions ; and if the tax is not so charged and paid, the tax may, without prejudice to any proceedings in respect of any offence under this Ordinance that may be taken against the proprietor of the entertainment, be recovered from such proprietor by the local authority by whom the tax is imposed by means of a civil action.
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In any case where a statement has been furnished to the proper officer under paragraph (A) of section 8 (1) or under subsection (3) of section 9 in relation to any entertainment, no such action for the recovery of any tax alleged to be due in respect of that entertainment shall be instituted before the expiry of a period of thirty days from the date on which the entertainment is held.
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Method of charging tax in certain cases.
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7. Where the payment for admission to any entertainment is made by means of a lump sum paid as a subscription or contribution to any club, association or society, or for a season ticket or for the right of admission to a series of entertainments or to any entertainment during a certain period of time, entertainment tax shall be paid on the amount of the lump sum, but where the local authority by whom the tax is imposed is satisfied that the payment of a lump sum or any payment for a ticket represents payment for other privileges, rights or purposes in addition to the admission to an entertainment, or covers admission to an entertainment the payment for admission to which is not subject to the tax or during any period for which the tax has not been in operation, the tax shall be charged on such an amount as appears to such local authority to represent the right of admission to entertainments in respect of which the tax is payable.
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Exemption from tax.
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8.
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(1) All payments for admission to an entertainment shall be exempt from and shall not be subject to the entertainment tax if-
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(a) the whole of the gross proceeds of such entertainment or the whole of the net proceeds thereof, are devoted to any such public, religious, educational, philanthropic or charitable purpose or purposes as may be prescribed by regulation ; and
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(b) the proprietor of such entertainment has, not less than three days before the date on which the entertainment is held, furnished to the proper officer of the local authority by whom the tax is imposed a statement in the prescribed form to the effect that the gross or net proceeds of the entertainment are to be devoted to any such purpose or purposes.
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Every such statement shall be verified by a declaration to the effect that the particulars contained in the statement are true and accurate.
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In this subsection, ” net proceeds ” means the sum remaining after deducting, from the whole of the gross proceeds, the amount of the actual expenses of the entertainment or an amount equal to forty per centum of the gross proceeds, whichever such amount is the less.
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(2) In the case of any entertainment which is exempted by subsection (I) from the entertainment tax, it shall be the duty of the proprietor of the entertainment, within thirty days from the date on which the entertainment is held, to transmit to the proper officer a declaration specifying the persons to whom the proceeds of the entertainment have been paid together with all receipts taken in respect of such payments.
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(3) Where, in any prosecution for any offence under this Ordinance or in any action for the recovery of any tax due under this Ordinance, it is alleged that any payment for admission is exempted from the tax by subsection (1) or subsection (2A), the burden of proving that the payment is so exempt shall be on the person making such allegation.
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Exemption or reduction of tax in respect of games, sports,& c.
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9.
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(1) This section shall apply to any entertainment being a game, or a sports or athletic meet, or boxing contest, if the whole of the gross proceeds of such entertainment or the whole of the net proceeds thereof are utilized for the encouragement or promotion of games or sporting or athletic activities:
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Provided, however, that this section shall not apply to any race meeting.
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(2) A local authority may by resolution determine, that subject to such conditions and exemptions, if any, as may be specified in the resolution-
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(a) payments for admission to entertainments to which this section applies shall be exempt from the entertainment tax imposed by that authority; or
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(b) that entertainment tax shall be levied on such payments for admission at a specified rate being lower than the rate imposed and levied by that authority in respect of other entertainments.
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(3) The exemption from tax granted by resolution under subsection (2), or the lower rate of tax specified thereby, shall not be applicable in relation to any entertainment to which this section applies unless the proprietor has, not less than three days before the date on which the entertainment is held, furnished to the proper officer of the local authority by whom the tax is imposed a statement specifying the purpose for which the gross proceeds or the net proceeds are to be utilized.
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(4) The provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of section 8 shall apply in relation to entertainments to which this section applies in like manner as though references therein to an entertainment exempted from tax by subsection (1) of that section were references to an entertainment exempted by resolution under this section or, as the case may be, to an entertainment in the case of which a lower rate is applicable by virtue of such resolution.
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(5) In this section ” net proceeds ” has the same meaning as in subsection (1) of section 8.
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(6) Any resolution under this section shall come into operation on the date of its publication in the Gazette and shall have effect notwithstanding anything in any resolution passed under section 2.
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Entertainment tax and fines payable into funds of local authority.
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10. There shall be payable into the funds of a local authority-
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(a) the entertainment tax levied by such authority under this Ordinance ;
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(b) the entertainment tax recovered by a court under this Ordinance in respect of any entertainment held within the administrative limits of such authority; and
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(c) all fines recovered by a court in respect of offences under this Ordinance committed within such limits.
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Regulations.
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11.
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(1) The Minister may regulations for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to the principles and provisions of this Ordinance.
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(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations, for or in respect of all or any of the following matters;-
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(a) all matters stated or required by this Ordinance to be prescribed ;
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(b) the issue of tickets and the particulars to be entered therein;
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(c) the issue of tickets covering the admission of more than one person and the calculation of the tax thereon;
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(d) the determination of the tax to be charged in cases referred to in section 7;
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(e) the payment of the tax on the transfer from one part of a place of entertainment to another;
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(f) the compulsory affixing of tax labels on tickets, and the defacement and marking of tax labels ;
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(g) the compulsory retention of used tickets or portions thereof by proprietors for the purpose of examination or inspection by or on behalf of the proper officer;
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(h) the return of unused tax label or labels that have been accidentally damaged or defaced and the refund of the purchase price thereof;
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(i) the registers and books which shall be kept for the purposes of this Ordinance, the form of such registers and books and the particulars to be entered therein, and the forms of all returns and declarations required for the purposes of this Ordinance;
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(j) all matters incidental to or connected with the matters or subjects specifically referred to in this subsection.
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(3) Every regulation made by the Minister shall be brought before Parliament by a motion that such regulation shall be approved. No regulation made by the Minister shall have effect until it has been approved by Parliament. Notification of such approval shall be published in the Gazette.
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(4) A regulation made by the Minister when approved by Parliament, shall, upon the notification of such approval in the Gazette, be as valid and effectual as if it were herein enacted.
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Power to enter a place of entertainment.
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12. The proper officer of every local authority by whom entertainment tax is imposed or any other officer of such authority empowered in that behalf by the authority may enter any place situated within the administrative limits of such authority while any entertainment is proceeding thereat, or may at any reasonable time enter any place so situated which is ordinarily used as a place of entertainment, with a view to ascertaining whether the provisions of this Ordinance or any regulation made thereunder are being complied with.
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Offences and penalties.
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13.
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(1) Where any person is admitted to any entertainment in contravention of any of the provisions of section 5, the proprietor of the entertainment shall be guilty of an offence.
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In any case where a statement has been furnished to the proper officer under paragraph (b) of section 8 (1) or under subsection (3) of section 9 in relation to any entertainment, no prosecution for any offence under this subsection alleged to have been committed in relation to that entertainment shall be instituted before the expiry of a period of thirty days from the date on which the entertainment is held.
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(2) Any person who-
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(a) contravenes any of the provisions of this Ordinance or of any regulation made thereunder ; or
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(b) obstructs any officer of a local authority in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 12, shall be guilty of an offence.
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(3) Any person who commits an offence under this Ordinance (other than an offence under section 14) shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred rupees.
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Forgeries.& c. of tax lables.
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14. Any person who forges, or uses, sells, offers for sale, disposes of, or has in his possession, knowing or having reason to believe it to be forged, any tax label purporting to be issued by the proper officer of any local authority by whom the entertainment tax is imposed, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years or to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees or to both such fine and imprisonment.
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Recovery of entertainment tax from proprietor of entertainment,
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15. Where the proprietor of an entertainment is convicted by any court of an offence under this Ordinance by reason of the admission of any person to such entertainment in contravention of any of the provisions of section 5, any entertainment tax that should have been paid on admissions to such entertainment shall, if such tax has not already been recovered in the manner provided by section 6, be certified to that court by the proper officer of the local authority by whom the tax is imposed and shall be recovered by that court in like manner as a fine imposed by that court.
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Interpretation.
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16. In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires-
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“admission” in relation to an entertainment, means admission as a spectator or one of an audience and includes admission to any place in which the entertainment is held, and its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly ;
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” cinematograph entertainment ” means the exhibition of pictures or other optical effects by means of a cinematograph or other similar apparatus with or without the mechanical reproduction of sound ;
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“entertainment to which this Ordinance applies” means any dance, game, sport, cinematograph entertainment, stage play, concert, recital, circus or variety show to which persons are admitted for payment;
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” local authority ” includes any Municipal Council, Urban Council, Town Council, or Village Council;
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” payment for admission ” includes any payment made by a person who, having been admitted to one part of a place of entertainment, is subsequently admitted to another part thereof to which a payment involving entertainment tax or more tax is required, and its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly ;
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” proper officer “-
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(a) in relation to any local authority which is a Municipal Council, means the Municipal Commissioner of that Council; .
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(b) in relation to any other local authority, means the Chairman of the authority ;
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“proprietor”, in relation to any entertainment, includes the person responsible for the management thereof;
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“tax label” means any tax label issued, for the purposes of entertainment tax, by the proper officer of a local authority by whom the tax is imposed ;
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“stage play” includes any tragedy, comedy, farce, opera, burletta, interlude, melodrama, pantomime or other entertainment of the stage or any part thereof.
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Ordinance not to apply to certain entertainments
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17. This Ordinance shall not apply or be deemed or construed to apply to any entertainment which is provided by any society or institution not conducted or established with a view to profit (any question on that point to be determined, in case of difference , by the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final and conclusive) and admission to which is restricted exclusively to members of Her Majesty’s forces wives and children.
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(2) For the purposes of this section , ” Her Majesty’s forces” includes the Ceylon Army, the Ceylon Royal Volunteer Navel Reserve and any force, whether regular or volunteer , of India, a Dominion, a British colony, or a mandated territory
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