BMC's 570% Entertainment Tax Hike Faces Delay, Old Rates To Continue In Mumbai

Mumbai's proposed entertainment tax hike for cinema halls and performing arts venues has been put on hold as the Maharashtra government is yet to approve the revised rates. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has informed the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) that the changes cannot take effect without clearance from the state's Urban Development Department.

The proposal, which suggested increases of up to 570 per cent, had drawn objections from film industry representatives. AICWA president Suresh Gupta had urged the authorities to reconsider the move. For now, venues will continue paying tax at the existing rates.

The BMC communicated its position to AICWA in a letter dated November 5. According to the response, the revised entertainment tax rates cannot be introduced until the Maharashtra government's Urban Development Department approves the proposal.

The association had raised objections after the civic body suggested higher taxes in late September. AICWA president Suresh Gupta wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, requesting him to withdraw the proposed hike. He also met Deputy Municipal Commissioner Prashant Gaikwad to discuss the issue.

570% ENTERTAINMENT TAX: PADLOCKS ON CINEMAS, A BLOW TO THE LIVELIHOODS OF LAKHS Only 10% of Films Cross ₹100 Crore, the Rest Struggle to Recover Costs: BMC Must See the Other Side of the Coin, Says AICWA For Immediate Release | 07 November 2026 Mumbai's Cinemas Cannot Be Made the Easy Target for BMC's Revenue Gap: A 570% Entertainment Tax Is a Death Sentence for Theatres Mumbai, 07 November 2026: In its reply to AICWA, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has justified the proposed increase in entertainment tax by citing the needs of a city of 1.5 crore people.

It says the cost of water, health, basic infrastructure and emergency services has put financial pressure on the civic body, and that new sources of revenue are therefore essential. The BMC has also clarified that the revised rates have not yet been notified in the Government Gazette by the Maharashtra Government, and that collection continues at the 2014-15 rates.

We acknowledge the BMC's responsibilities. But a civic body cannot meet its financial needs by pushing a struggling industry to the brink. A 570% entertainment tax is not a revenue measure. It is a closure notice for every single-screen theatre and multiplex in Mumbai.

Cinema is already fighting to survive. Since the pandemic, filmmakers have been able to complete and release only a handful of films, and with great difficulty. In the age of OTT, families that are balancing tight household budgets still make the effort to go to the theatre.

A tax hike of this scale will make that outing unaffordable. Audiences will stay away, films will lose money, and theatres will empty out. Theatres are already closing. Single screens and multiplexes across Mumbai are shutting down one after another.

With fewer releases, exhibitors are forced to run one film for weeks, audiences thin out, and halls sit empty. Many owners are somehow keeping their theatres alive, and in doing so they sustain thousands of livelihoods. A 570% tax will put a lock on every one of them.

The damage will not stop with theatre owners. The tax will hit theatre staff, who will lose their jobs overnight. It will hit producers and filmmakers, who will think twice before investing in a new film. It will hit lakhs of workers, technicians and artists whose daily bread depends on the Hindi film industry.

If theatres collapse, the entire Bollywood ecosystem collapses with them. Bollywood is a global ambassador and a major taxpayer. Hindi cinema is recognised across the world and contributes a very large share of tax to the State and the country.

Destroying it to fill a revenue gap is neither fair nor wise. Look at the other side of the coin. In the Hindi film industry, only about 10 out of every 100 films manage to earn more than ₹100 crore. The other face of the industry is that a large number of films flop and cannot even recover their costs.

The BMC sees only films earning ₹100 crore to ₹1,000 crore, while the reality is that most films fail. For loss-making films and theatres, a 570% tax would be the final blow. Give relief, not a bigger burden. Instead of raising the tax, the BMC and the State Government should help theatre owners and bring audiences back, with a tax holiday or reduced entertainment tax for single screens, lower slabs on affordable tickets, concessions on property tax and licence fees, and a waiver of penalties on past dues.

A full theatre pays more tax than an empty one. Our demands: 1The BMC and the Maharashtra Government must drop the proposal for a 570% entertainment tax. 2The existing 2014-15 rates must be retained, and relief measures for single-screen theatres must be considered.

The BMC may look for new sources of revenue, but it must not find them by taxing a post-pandemic industry out of existence. If theatres go bankrupt and lakhs of workers lose their livelihoods, the BMC and the State Government will be fully responsible for it.

| #AICWA | #BMC | | @mieknathshinde | @upalakbr999 | Speaking to Mid-Day, Gupta questioned why the BMC had proposed the increase if the final decision rested with the state government. He said, “On Thursday, I received a letter from the BMC in which they have washed their hands of the matter.

They said that the state government is in charge of this issue, and they have asked the government whether they want to implement the hike or not. But interestingly, it was the BMC that had submitted the proposal.” ALSO READ | Vinod Kapri Claims 75% Of 'Pyre' Shows Cut After 'Ramayana' Release, Appeals For Fair Chance The BMC's letter also clarified that the Rangbhumikar tax is still being collected at the rates introduced in 2018.

It stated, “The contribution coming to the Municipal Corporation's treasury from your Rangbhumikar is used for the overall development of Mumbai city.”...