Bollywood welcomes service tax exemption

Bollywood has welcomed the exemption in service tax on copyright granted by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget today. Copyright relating to cinematography in film industry is exempted from service tax, the finance minister announced in his speech on Friday (March 16).

"The film industry is very much happy with the exemption in service tax. It was gracious of them to consider our demand. We are grateful to them and we have called off our strike," Mukesh Bhatt, Vice-President, Film Producers Guild, told PTI.

"It is the best gift for the industry at the time of completing 100 years," he said. The film industry had threatened to go on strike if there was no exemption in the service tax in the budget. "It is a mind blowing thing. It is a huge victory for the film industry," Director Anubhav Sinha said.

"It is a huge relief for the film industry. This shows that our concerns were well understood by the Finance Minister," Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt said. Director Anees Bazmee, whose latest film Ready starring Salman Khan was a runway hit, said, "It is a good thing that they gave us the exemption." PTI KKP ABC.