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REPORTABLE IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION  

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3882 OF 2013 (ARISING OUT OF SLP (CIVIL) NO.27595 OF 2010)

M/s Tata Sky Ltd.           … Appellant

Versus

State of M.P. and others … Respondents  

WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO.3888 OF 2013 (ARISING OUT OF SLP (CIVIL) NO.27655 OF 2010)

WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO.3889 OF 2013 (ARISING OUT OF SLP (CIVIL) NO.30034 OF 2010)

WITH  

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3890 OF 2013 (ARISING OUT OF SLP (CIVIL) NO.32475 OF 2010)

WITH

CIVIL APPEAL NO.3891 OF 2013 (ARISING OUT OF SLP (CIVIL) NO.2528 OF 2011)

AND

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3892 OF 2013 (ARISING OUT OF SLP (CIVIL) NO.2752 OF 2011)

J U D G M E N T Aftab Alam, J.

1. Leave granted in all the special leave petitions.  

2. All  these  appeals  relate  to  the  demand  of  entertainment  tax  raised  by  the

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Government of Madhya Pradesh under the Madhya Pradesh Entertainment Duty and  

Advertisements  Tax Act,  1936 (hereinafter  referred  to  as  “the  1936  Act”)  on  DTH  

(direct to home) broadcast provided by the appellants to their respective customers on  

payment of subscriptions. The appellants in all the appeals challenged the demand by  

the State Government by filing writ petitions before the Madhya Pradesh High Court.  

The  High  Court  dismissed  the  writ  petitions,  upholding  the  demand  by  the  State  

Government by the judgment and order dated August  20,  2010. That  judgment was  

rendered in a batch of three writ petitions, taking Writ Petition No. 10148 of 2009, filed  

on behalf of Tata Sky Limited (appellant in the appeal arising from SLP (C) No.2752 of  

2011)  as  the  lead case.  The rest  of  the  writ  petitions  were  dismissed  following the  

judgment dated August 20, 2010.  

3. For the sake of convenience, we too have taken the facts from civil appeal arising  

out of special leave petition (civil) No.27595 of 2010.

4. The  appellant  operates  under  a  licence  from  the  Government  of  India  under  

section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Indian Telegraphy Act, 1933. It is,  

however, the case of the appellant that DTH broadcast is a “service” and it is chargeable  

to service tax. As a matter of fact, one of the several grounds on which the demand of  

entertainment tax by the State Government on DTH broadcasting is challenged by the  

appellant is that DTH broadcasting is one of the notified services under the Finance Act,  

1994 and is chargeable to service tax by the Central Government. In that regard, it is  

stated on behalf of the appellant, that in 1991 the Government of India appointed a Tax  

Reform Committee under  the Chairmanship  of  Dr.  Chelliah.   The recommendations  

made by the Tax Reform Committee were accepted and the service tax was introduced

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in the budget for the year 1994-1995 through the Finance Act, 1994 under the residuary  

entry 97 of List 1 of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution of India. Under the Act, service  

tax is levied on the notified services provided or to be provided.  

5. For  the  purpose  of  levy  of  service  tax  on  broadcasting,  the  expression  

“broadcasting” has been defined specifically under section 65(15) of the Finance Act.  

The broadcasting services were brought within the purview of the service tax under  

section 65(105)(zk) of  the Finance Act,  1994 as amended with effect  from July 16,  

2011. Later on, DTH service was brought within the purview of the service tax with  

effect from June 16, 2006.

6. Under section 67 of the Finance Act,  the value of taxable service is the gross  

amount charged by the service provider for provision of service.  

7. On March 24, 2006, the appellant got a licence from the Government of India  

under section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Indian Telegraphy Act, 1933  

to establish, maintain and operate DTH platform for a period of 10 years on the terms  

and conditions stipulated in the licence agreement.  The appellant paid Rs.10 crores as  

licence fee and furnished a bank guarantee for the sum of Rs.40 crores that is to remain  

valid for the entire duration of the licence. In terms of the licence the appellant is further  

required to pay an annual fee equivalent to 10 percent of its gross revenue as reflected in  

the audited accounts of the company for every financial year within one month from the  

end of the financial year.  The appellant is also required to pay, in addition to licence  

fee, royalty for spectrum use as prescribed by the Wireless Planning and Coordination  

Authority (WPC) under the Department of Telecommunications.   

8. The licence granted by the Central Government is for the whole of India and the

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appellant  is  not obliged to take any permission or  any other licence from any other  

authority for making DTH broadcast.  

9. In August 2006, the appellant launched its operations all over India, including the  

State  of  Madhya  Pradesh.  The  appellant  is  having  a  single  broadcasting  centre  at  

Chhattarpur, Delhi. This centre downlinks the signals from satellite and then uplinks  

those signals to the designated transponders for their transmission in  Ku band. These  

signals are received by the dish antenna installed at the subscribers’ premises. The TV  

signals transmitted from the broadcasting centre at Chhattarpur, Delhi, are in encrypted  

format and those are decrypted/decoded by the set top boxes and the viewing card inside  

the set top box supplied by the appellant to its subscribers. The subscribers are required  

to pay certain charges for viewing DTH broadcasts by the appellant on their TV sets.

10. The  appellant  does  not  use  any  infrastructure  from  the  State  for  its  DTH  

broadcasts.   

11. On May 5, 2008, the State Government in exercise of powers conferred under  

section  3(1)  of  the  1936  Act,  issued  a  gazette  notification  fixing  20  percent  

entertainment duty in respect of every payment made for admission to an entertainment  

other  than  cinemas,  videos  cassette  recorders  and  cable  service.  As  the  aforesaid  

notification forms the basis of the demand raised by the State Government it is useful to  

reproduce it here in full:-

“No. (63) B-5-9-2006-2-V- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub section  (1)  of  Section  3  of  the  Madhya  Pradesh  Entertainment  Duty  and  Advertisements Tax Act 1936 (No 30 of 1936) the State Government hereby  prescribed the rate of Entertainment Duty at 20 percent in respect of every  payment for admission to an Entertainment other than Cinema, Video Cassette  Recorder and Cable service.  This  notification  shall  come  into  force  with  effect  from  the  date  of  publication.

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By order and in the name of the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.”

12. Following the notification dated May 5, 2008, a demand notice dated June 10,  

2009  was  issued  by  the  Excise  Commissioner  Madhya  Pradesh,  Gwalior,  to  the  

appellant. The contents of the notice, insofar as relevant for the present, are as under:

“S.No.7-Ent./2009-10/173   Gwalior Date 10.06.2009

To,

Tata Sky, … … Sub: Levy of Entertainment Duty on Direct to Home Entertainment Service

You are providing entertainment in the State of Madhya Pradesh by Direct to  Home (DTH) to registered consumers on monthly payment basis.  Whereas: (1.) Under  section  3(1)  of  the  Madhya  Pradesh  Entertainment  Duty  and  

advertisements Tax Act, 1936 except cinema hall, videos and cable in all  entertainments  including  entertainment  provided  through  registered  consumers through DTH on monthly subscription basis   is  

included.  In the aforesaid payment by the consumers, entertainment duty  @ 20% is liable to be paid in advance in the treasury of the Government.

…”

13. The appellant was directed to provide the information as asked for in the notice  

failing  which,  the  notice  declared,  an  ex  parte  assessment  would  be  made  of  the  

entertainment tax payable by it.

14. The appellant replied to the notice by its letter of July 22, 2009 stating that under  

the  provisions  of  the  1936  Act,  there  is  no  specific  entry  with  respect  to  DTH  

broadcasting  and  in  absence  of  such  an  entry,  the  provisions  of  the  Act  are  not  

applicable  to  DTH  broadcasting  and,  therefore,  the  notice  was  illegal  and  without

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jurisdiction. The appellant also referred to a decision of the Uttarakhand High Court in a  

case relating to a similar demand raised by the Uttarakhand Government and the order  

of this Court in the special leave petition filed by the Uttrakhand Government against  

the judgment of the High Court.  

15. On August 1, 2009, the State of Madhya Pradesh passed the Madhya Pradesh  

Entertainment  Duty  and  Advertisements  Tax  (Amendment)  Act,  2009.  By  the  

Amendment  Act,  the failure  to  produce accounts  and documents  as  required by the  

Excise Commissioner or any officer authorized by the State Government was made a  

penal offence. The Amendment Act, however, did not introduce any provision in the  

Parent Act with respect to levy of entertainment duty on DTH broadcasting.  

16. On August  18,  2009,  the Excise  Commissioner  Madhya Pradesh wrote  to  the  

Deputy Commissioner Excise,  Flying Squad, Gwalior  Division,  Gwalior,  telling him  

that entertainment duty at the rate of 20 percent was payable on subscription amounts  

received  by  the  DTH  entertainment  service  provider  and  directing  to  ensure  the  

realization  of  entertainment  duty  from  DTH  entertainment  service  providers.   The  

direction of the Excise Commissioner was followed by a number of notices given to the  

appellant and on October 1, 2009, the Vice President (Operation) and Area Operation  

(Manager) of the appellant company were arrested and later released on bail for non-

compliance with the provisions of section 5(E) of the 1936 Act.

17. On  October  3,  2009,  the  appellant  filed  a  writ  petition,  being  Writ  Petition  

No.10148 of 2009, challenging the demand and collection of entertainment duty at the  

rate of 20 percent under section 3(1) of the 1936 Act. The writ petition was eventually  

dismissed by the High Court by its judgment and order dated August 20, 2010 and the

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matter is now brought to this Court.

18. Before proceeding further,  it  needs to be stated that the controversy in all  the  

appeals relates to the demand and realization of entertainment tax under the 1936 Act,  

which means for the period between the commencement of operation by the appellant in  

the year 2006 and March 31, 2011, i.e., the day prior to the coming into force of the new  

Act,  called  the  Madhya  Pradesh  Vilasita,  Manoranjan,  Amod  Evam Vigyapan  Kar   

Adiniyam, 2011. Further, in course of hearing of the appeals Mr. Dave learned counsel  

appearing for the State of Madhya Pradesh submitted that he proposed to defend the  

demand and realization of the impugned tax only for the period between May 5, 2008,  

the date of the notification issued under section 3(1) of the 1936 Act and the coming into  

force of the new Act on April 1, 2011. It is, therefore, made clear that this judgment  

deals with the question of levy of entertainment tax on DTH broadcast under the 1936  

Act  for  the  period between  the  issuance  of  the  notification  (May 5,  2008)  and  the  

coming into force of the new Act (April 1, 2011). The judgment is not concerned with  

the legal position arising after the new Act came into force.

19. We now propose to examine whether on the basis of the provisions of the 1936  

Act, it is permissible or possible for the State of Madhya Pradesh to levy on what in the  

lexicon of broadcasting is called direct-to-home or in short DTH. Here it needs to be  

clearly understood that the issue in this case is not whether direct to home broadcast is  

“entertainment”  in  the  broader  sense.   Entry  62  of  List  2  of  Schedule  7  to  the  

constitution  may  indeed  be  wide  enough  to  include  DTH  as  yet  another  form  of  

entertainment  but  that  is  not  the  issue  rising  for  consideration.  The  issue  under  

consideration is whether the provisions of the 1936 Act have the necessary expanse and

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flexibility  to  include  DTH as  an  “entertainment” chargeable  to  tax and whether  the  

notification dated May 5, 2008 in any manner extended the scope of chargeability under  

the 1936 Act.

20. The preamble to the 1936 Act reads as under:-

“An Act to impose a duty in respect of  admission to entertainments and a  tax  in  respect  of  certain  forms  of  advertisement  exhibited  at  such  entertainments in Madhya Pradesh.”

21. Section 2 of the 1936 Act contains the definition clauses and clause (a) defines the  

expression “admission to an entertainment”:

“2(a) “admission to an entertainment” includes admission to any place in  which the entertainment is held;”

22. Clause (aaaa) was inserted in the Act with effect from May 1, 1999 to define  

‘Cable Operator”, “Cable Service”, “Cable Television Network” and “Subscriber”.

“2(aaaa) “Cable Operator”, “Cable Service”, “Cable Television Network”  and “Subscriber” shall  have the same meaning as assigned to them in the  Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995 (No.7 of 1995)”

23. Clause (b) defines “entertainment”:

“2(b) “Entertainment”  includes  any  exhibition,  performance,  amusement,  game or sport to which persons are admitted for payment;”

24. Clause (c) defines “entertainment duty”:

“2(c) “entertainments duty” means a duty levied under section 3;”

25. Clause (d) defines the expression “Payment for admission” as under:

“2(d) “Payment for admission” includes – (i) any payment for seats or other accommodation in any form in a  

place of entertainment; (ii) any payment for a programme or synopsis of an entertainment; (iii) any payment  made for  the  loan or  use  of  any instrument  or

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contrivance which enables a person to get a normal or better  view  or  hearing  or  enjoyment  of  the  entertainment,  which  without the aid of such instrument or contrivance such person  would not get;

(iv) any payment made by a person by way of contribution or  subscription or installation and connection charges or any  other  charges,  by  whatever  name  called,  for  providing  access to any entertainment, whether for a specified period  or on a continuous basis;

(v) any  payment,  by  whatever  name  called  for  any  purpose  whatever, connected with an entertainment, which a person is,  required to make in any form as a condition of attending, or  continuing to attend the entertainment, either in addition to the  payment, if any, for admission to the entertainment or without  any such payment for admission;

(vi) any payment, made by a person, who having been admitted to  one part of a place of entertainment is subsequently admitted to  another  part  thereof,  for  admission  to  which  a  payment  involving tax or more tax is required;

Explanation - I. –  Any  subscription  raised  or  donation  collected  in  connection with an entertainment in any form shall be deemed to be payment  for admission; [Explanation - II. – Where entertainment is provided as part of any service by  any person, whether forming an integral part of such service or otherwise the  charges received by such person for providing the service shall be deemed to  include charges for providing entertainment or access to entertainment also];

26. Clause (f) defines “proprietor”:

“2(f)  “proprietor”  in  relation  to  any  entertainment,  includes  any  person  responsible for or for the time being in-charge of the management thereof;”

27.  “Video Cassette Recorder” and “Video Cassette Player” are defined in clauses  

(g) and (h) of section 2.  

28. The charging provision is contained in Section 3 of the 1936 Act which, insofar as  

relevant for the present, is extracted hereunder:  

“Entertainment Duty payable by proprietor of an entertainment - (1) Every  proprietor of an entertainment other than proprietor of an entertainment by  Video Cassette Recorder (hereinafter referred to as V.C.R.) or Video Cassette  Player (hereinafter referred to as V.C.P.) or a Cable Operator, shall in respect

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of  every  payment  for  admission  to  the  entertainment  pay  to  the  State  Government a  duty at  the rate  as  prescribed by the State  Government not  exceeding seventy five per centum thereof: Provided … Provided further … Provided also …. Explanation … (2) xxx (3) Where  the  payment  for  admission  to  an  entertainment  is  made  by  means of a lump sum paid as a subscription or contribution to any person, or  for a season ticket or for the right of admission to a series of entertainments or  to any entertainment during a  certain period of  time,  or  for  any privilege,  right, facility or thing combined with the right of admission without further  payment or at a reduced charge, the entertainments duty shall be paid on the  amount of such lump sum:  Provided that where the State Government is of opinion that the payment of a  lump sum represents payment for other privileges, rights, or purposes besides  the admission to an entertainment, or covers admission to the entertainment  during any period for which the duty has not been in operation, the duty shall  be charged on such an amount as appears to the State Government to represent  the right of admission to entertainment in respect of which the entertainment  duty is payable.” (4) xxx (i) xxx (ii) xxx”

29. Section 3-A deals  with entertainment duty payable by proprietor  of  V.C.R.  or  

V.C.P. and this provision was inserted in the Act with effect from May 1, 1999.

30. Section 3-B was inserted in the 1936 Act with effect from April 1, 2001. Sub-

section (1) of section 3-B deals with entertainment duty payable by cable operator and it  

makes  a  cable  operator,  providing access  to  entertainments through cable  service  to  

subscribers of such service, not being owner or occupants of rooms of hotel or lodging  

house, liable to pay duty at the rate of twenty rupees per month per subscriber in urban  

and cantonment areas. Sub-section (2) of section 3-B makes every proprietor of hotel or  

lodging house, providing access to entertainments in the rooms of a hotel or lodging

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house through the cable service of his own or obtained through any cable operator liable  

to pay  a consolidated amount of duty per month determined on the basis of number of  

rooms.

31. Section 3-C deals with levy of Advertisement Tax.

32. The machinery for effectuating the charge created by section 3 is provided under  

section 4 of the 1936 Act which, insofar as relevant for the present, is quoted below:

“4. Method of  levy – (1)   Save as otherwise provided by this  Act,  no  person shall  be admitted to  any entertainment  other  than entertainment  by  V.C.R.,  except  with  a  ticket  stamped  with  an  impressed,  embossed,  engraved  or  adhesive  stamp,  (not  before  used)  issued  by  the  State  Government, of nominal value equal to the duty payable under section 3. (1A) Omitted. (2) The State Government may, on the application of a proprietor of any  entertainment  other  than  entertainment  by  V.C.R.  in  respect  of  which  entertainments duty is payable under section 3, allow such proprietor to pay  by one of the modes specified hereunder as it may think fit, in such manner  and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, the amount of the duty  due, namely:-

(a) by a consolidated payment of  such percentage as  determined by the  State  Government  of  the  gross  sum  received  by  the  proprietor  on  account of payments for admission to the entertainment and on account  of the duty to be fixed by the State Government;  

(b) in  accordance  with  returns  of  the  payments  for  admission  to  the  entertainment and on account of the duty;

(c) in accordance with the results recorded by any mechanical contrivance  which automatically registers the number of persons admitted;

(d)xxx (e) xxx (f) xxx

(3) xxx (4) xxx”

33. Section 4-B imposes restriction on admission without payment or at concession  

rates and provides as under:  

“4-B Restriction  on  admission  without  payment  or  at  concession rates. – No proprietor shall admit any person to an entertainment  other than entertainment by V.C.R. without payment for admission thereto or

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at concession rates unless the entertainments duty payable in respect thereof  or  on  the  full  value  of  the  ticket  for  the  class  to  which  such  person  is  admitted has been paid.  

Provided that nothing in this section shall  apply in respect  of  admission at concessional rates –

(i) to such class of persons; and  (ii) to such entertainment or class of entertainments;

As the State Government may, by notification, specify.”

34. Section 4-C gives the power to impose penalty and section 5 deals with penalties.  

5-A  deals  with  composition  of  offences  and  section  5-B  deals  with  suspension  or  

revocation of  licence for  entertainment.  Section 8 provides the rule making powers.  

Section 9 gives the power of entry and inspection and section 9-A makes production and  

inspection of  accounts  and documents obligatory.  Section 10 deals with recovery of  

arrears of entertainment duty. Section 10 provides protection to persons acting in good  

faith and bars any suit or prosecution or other proceedings against officers and servant  

of the Government. Section 11 deals with delegation of  powers and section 12 bars  

imposition of entertainment duty by any local authority.

35. On a careful examination of the 1936 Act as a whole, and more particularly on a  

conjoint reading of clauses (a) [“Admission to an entertainment”], (b) [“Entertainment”]  

and (d) [“Payment of admission”] along with section 3 creating the charge and section 4  

providing the collection machinery, we find ourselves in agreement with the submission  

made on behalf of the appellants that the provisions of 1936 Act are applicable only to  

place-related entertainment. In other words, the provisions of the 1936 Act cover an  

entertainment which takes place in a specified physical location to which persons are  

admitted on payment of some charge as defined under clause (d) of section 2 of the 1936  

Act. The legislative history and the amendments introduced in the 1936 Act also show

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that it was how the scheme of the 1936 Act was viewed by the State itself. It was earlier  

found that the provisions of the 1936 Act were inadequate to bring shows by video  

cassette recorder or video cassette and player cable T.V. operations within the taxing net  

and hence, the legislature considered it necessary to amend the 1936 Act and to insert  

section 3-A and section 3-B respectively with effect from May 1, 1999 and April 1,  

2001. In this regard, it is also very important to note that both in the case of shows by  

video cassette recorder or video cassette and player, cable T.V. operations, the collection  

machinery is in-built and provided within the respective provisions of section 3-A and  

section 3-B. and in those two cases the collection of duty does not take place under  

section 4 of the 1936 Act.

36. On behalf of the State the imposition of levy on DTH was sought to be justified  

on the basis of sub-clause(4) of clause (d) of section 2 which reads as under:

“(iv) any payment made by a person by way of contribution or subscription  or installation and connection charges or any other charges, by whatever name  called,  for  providing  access  to  any  entertainment,  whether  for  a  specified  period or on a continuous basis;”  

37. In our view, the submission is untenable for more reasons than one. First, section  

2(d)(iv) is only the measure of tax and it does not create the charge which is created  by  

section 3. The question of going to the measure of the tax would arise only if it is found  

that the charge of tax is attracted. Under section 3 read with section 2(d) and section  

2(a),  the charge or  levy of  tax is attracted only if  an entertainment takes place in a  

specified  place  or  locations  and persons  are  admitted  to  the  place  on payment  of  a  

charge  to  the  proprietor  providing  the  entertainment.   In  the  present  case,  as  DTH  

operation is not a place-related entertainment, it is not covered by the charging section 3

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read with section 2(a) and 2(b) of the 1936 Act. Consequently, the question of going to  

section 2(d)(iv) does not arise.  Moreover, even if section 2(d)(iv) is to be read as an  

extension of section 3 and, thus, as a part of the charge, it does not make any difference  

at all because section 2(d)(iv) refers to “entertainment” which takes us back to section  

2(b) and finally to section 2(a).

38. We have held that DTH is not covered by the provisions of section 3 read with  

section 2(a), 2(b) and 2(d) of the 1936 Act.  The issue gets further settled on reference  

being made to the mechanism of collection of the charge as provided under section 4 of  

the  1936  Act.   Section  4(1)  mandates  that  no  person  shall  be  admitted  to  any  

entertainment other than entertainment by V.C.R. except with a ticket stamped with an  

impressed, embossed, engraved or adhesive stamp issued by the State Government of  

nominal value equal to the duty payable under section 3; sub-section (2) of section 4  

provides for different modes specified thereunder for payment of the amount of duty due  

on  the  entertainment.  Neither  the  provision  of  section  4(1)  nor  any  of  the  modes  

provided under  section 4(2)  can be made applicable  for  collection of  duty on DTH  

operation.  Further,  it  is  noted above that  section 8 provides rule making powers.  In  

exercise of the powers under that provision the Madhya Pradesh Entertainment Duty and  

Advertisement Tax Rules 1942 were framed.  A perusal of the Rules makes it absolutely  

clear  that  the collection mechanism under the 1936 Act is  based on revenue stamps  

stuck  to  the  tickets  issued  by  the  proprietor  for  entry  to  the  specified  place  where  

entertainment is held.   

39. The  machinery  for  collection  of  duty  provided  under  the  1936  Act  has  no  

application to DTH.  It is well settled that if the collection machinery provided under the

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Act is such that it cannot be applied to an event, it follows that the event is beyond the  

charge  created  by  the  taxing  statute.   See:  Commissioner  of  Income  Tax  v.  B.C.   

Srinivasa Setty, (1981) 2 SCC 460, Commissioner of Income-Tax Ernakulam, Kerala v.  

Official  Liquidator,  Palai  Central  Bank Ltd..  (1985)  1 SCC 45 (pages 50-51),  PNB  

Finance  Limited  v.  Commissioner  of  Income  Tax  I,  New  Delhi (2008)  13  SCC  94  

(paragraphs 21 and 24 pages 100 to 101).

40. In light of the discussions made above, we are clearly of the view that the 1936  

Act cannot be extended to cover DTH operations being carried out by the appellants.  

41. Coming  now  to  the  notification  dated  May  5,  2008,  it  is  elementary  that  a  

notification issued in exercise of powers under the Act cannot amend the Act. Moreover,  

the notification merely prescribes the rate of entertainment duty at 20 percent in respect  

of every payment for admission to an entertainment other than cinema, video cassette  

recorder and cable service. The notification cannot enlarge either the charging section or  

amend the provision of collection under section 4 of the Act read with the 1942 Rules. It  

is, therefore, clear that the notification in no way improves the case of the State. If no  

duty could be levied on DTH operation under the 1936 Act prior to the issuance of the  

notification dated May 5, 2008 as fairly stated by Mr. Dave, we fail to see how duty can  

be levied under the 1936 Act after the issuance of the notification.   

42. We  have  held  that  the  1936  Act  does  not  cover  DTH  operations  on  an  

interpretation of the provisions of 1936 Act itself. We, therefore, see no need to refer to  

the cases relied upon by the appellants relating to demand of duty on DTH operations  

under the Uttar Pradesh Entertainments and Betting Tax Act, 1979 and under the Bihar  

Entertainment Tax Act.

Page 16

43. Further, as we have held that the 1936 Act does not cover the DTH operations we  

need  not  go  to  the  other  submissions  made  on  behalf  of  the  appellants  inter  alia  

regarding the legislative competence of the statute legislature to impose tax on DTH  

operation  as it was a notified service chargeable to service tax under the Finance Act,  

1994.  

44. In the result, the appeals are allowed but with no order as to costs.

.…..………………………..J. (Aftab Alam)

.…..………………………..J. (R.M. Lodha)

New Delhi; April 16, 2013