Karnataka High Court: In the order passed by Dr. Vineet Kothari, J., addressed the writ petition filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution to quash the impugned assessment order passed by the assessing authority – ETO (Entertainment Tax Officer) on 24.07.2017, under Section 6-A(4) of the Karnataka Entertainment Tax Act, 1958, imposing an entertainment tax of Rs 4,75,000 for the ‘Bangalore Fashion Week’ organised by the petitioner in the Hotel Crown Plaza on 03.02.2012.
Throwing light on the scope of an alternative remedy to file an appeal to the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal, the Court disposed of the W.P. No. 10119/2014 on 26.11.2014, against which the petitioner filed a writ appeal i.e. W.A. No. 780/2015, which was also disposed by the Divisional Bench on 23.07.2015, leading to the impugned order dated 24.07.2017.
Various contentions were put forward regarding the extent of the definition of ‘Entertainment’ defined under Section 2 (e)(iii) and definition of ‘Payment for admission’ under Section 2(i) (iv- a) of the Karnataka Entertainment Tax Act,1958, its application and also whether the said event falls under the definition of ‘Entertainment’ or not.
After taking into consideration all the submissions, this Court while dismissing the petition, held that the ‘Bangalore Fashion Week’ comes within the parameters of the term ‘Entertainment’ and that the event is taxable under Section 3 of the Karnataka Entertainment Tax Act, 1958. [M/s. Dream Merchants v. State of Karnataka, W.P. No 48502/ 2017, decided on 30.01.2018]