The Andhra Pradesh Assembly in India has passed a bill to regulate cinema ticketing, which will be administered by the state Government.
Andhra Paresh is a south-eastern state in India, with a population of around 50 million people. The state Government has introduced the AP Cinemas (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill 2021, to regulate cinema pricing and limit the exploitation of cinema fans in the Telugu movie industry, which is also known as Tollywood.
According to Business Standard, Transport Minister Perni Venkataramaiah, who tabled the Bill on behalf of Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy, said that the Government would introduce a transparent online ticketing system.
The platform will be similar to the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) and the Indian Railways online ticketing system.
The cinema ticketing platform will be put in place to keep an eye on tax evasion and to enhance the experience of moviegoers. The proposed online ticketing platform will enable customers to book tickets using their mobile phones without having to physically queue up at the cinema.
Venkataramaiah has also said that the online booking system will be maintained by the Film Development Corporation (FDC) with a dedicated payment gateway. This will stamp out tax evasion and enable the Revenue Department to collect taxes on time.
Venkataramaiah added: “Now, the producers and distributors cannot avoid payment of taxes to the Government. Since the portal is managed by the state-run corporation, payment would be made to the theatres through Reserve Bank of India gateway on a day-to-day basis.”
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