Friday, May 17, 2002
Friday, May 17, 2002 |
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Karnataka-Bangalore
By Our Staff Reporter
The KFPA President, Basantkumar Patil, and office-bearers including the veteran producer-director, S.V. Rajendra Singh, told presspersons here on Thursday that the President of the KFCC and a section of office-bearers had ignored the interests of the association and the public by "favouring" exhibitors. Despite being aware of the exorbitant rentals charged (Rs. 2 lakh per week) by a large section of exhibitors, the KFCC had "deliberately ignored'' a number of pending issues including non-payment of producers' share of collection on time, failure to provide subsidised canteen facility, and the maintenance of cinemas, they added. On tax issues, they said the KFCC had "played politics with the Government, and promised a bribe of Rs. 1 crore for getting service tax enhanced from Re. 1 to Rs. 3 and extending tax benefits for "remake" films. But, an important office-bearer of the KFCC, who took the responsibility of mobilising the promised amount, could only collect and pay Rs. 50 lakh. However, the Government decided to enhance service tax by 50 paise, and kept its decision on extending tax sops for remake films in abeyance for obvious reasons." The KFPA representatives said enhancement of service tax by 50 paise (Rs. 42,000 per week per cinema) would amount to a minimum of Rs. 50 crore annually. The KFPA was not against the service tax and the INR tax (one per cent tax on each show's collection for screening Indian News Review), but it should be collected from exhibitors and not from producers. A large section of exhibitors had been exploiting the producers and the public by evading tax and by not complying with the norms and refusing to provide basic facilities. The KFPA had given a list 120 exhibitors, who were allegedly evading tax, to the KFCC and the Government, and it was surprising why the names in the list had not been disclosed, they added. They warned that the KFPA would be forced to sever its relationship with the KFCC to protect its interests and those of Kannada filmgoers if the issues were not properly addressed by the month end. They said that no producer and distributor would give film prints to Nartaki cinema until its owners apologised for their "unethical practices".
KFCC denies charges
The press conference turned into a debate when a section of office-bearers of the KFCC arrived. The KFPA representatives began shouting slogans against the KFCC, and demanded the resignation of its President, Tallam Nanjunda Setty, and the General Secretary, Thomas D'Souza. Refuting the charges made against the KFCC, Mr. Setty said that although he had been in the film industry for over 25 years, he was "new to this kind of politics". The KFCC had neither played politics with the Government nor bribed any minister for getting service tax enhanced. He would talk to exhibitors over the exorbitant rentals and maintenance of cinemas. The issue of service tax was to be sorted out with the Government, he added. But Mr. Setty failed to give a convincing reply to the KFPA members' question as to why the executive committee of the KFCC was not taken into confidence during his talks with the authorities concerned on the issues involved, before the Budget.
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