Entertainment Tax in India

Entertainment tax forms a part of the tickets that we buy for watching movies or big entertainment shows.

Some of most prominent features of term insurance plans are listed below:

• Entertainment tax is applicable to some or the other form of entertainment throughout the country and is a part of the various costs borne by customers
• State governments are the authorities responsible for collection of entertainment tax from customers
• Entertainment tax in the country is different for different states since it is under the purview of the state governments
• Article 246 of the Indian constitution lists down all rules and guidelines that are applicable to the entertainment tax in India
• Paid television services like Dish TV and Tata Sky have led to further taxes being levied on entertainment
• Entertainment tax applies to the following categories of entertainment too:
  • Exhibitions
  • Activities related to sports
  • Amusement Parks
  • Arcades
  • Celebrity Stage Shows
  • Theatre Shows
  • Video Games
• Entertainment tax was launched when the British Government ruled India, in order to curb public gatherings. However, the levying of the tax continued in the post-independence era too and still exists in all states of the country.

Entertainment Tax Rates in Various States

Entertainment tax was subsumed into GST for most forms of entertainment with effect from 1 July 2017. The rates below reflect the pre-GST entertainment tax structure that applied in various states before this transition; as of July 2026, cinema tickets and similar entertainment are taxed under the applicable GST slabs, with only limited local-body entertainment levies continuing in a few states.