'King of Pop' Michael Jackson in Mumbai in 1996. (Express Archive) The Cabinet Wednesday sanctioned a proposal reinstating an entertainment duty waiver grant-ed in 1996 to a concert in Mumbai featuring Michael Jackson. The Indian Express had reported that the proposal would come up for Cabinet approval on Wednesday.
While the Shiv Sena government in the state had exempted the concert in 1996, which was conceptualised by then Shiv Udyog Sena president and now MNS chief Raj Thackeray, the Bombay HC had struck this down in 2011, while remanding the matter to the government for a fresh hearing.
The Cabinet on Wednesday passed a ruling justifying the waiver. Following the Cabinet nod, the concert’s event managers, Wizcraft International, will be able to take back Rs 3.36 crore in ticket sales, which were deposited by it with the court’s treasury.
Meanwhile, during the Cabinet meeting, ministers sought information on exemptions in entertainment duty and other concessions extended to rock concerts as well as musical and entertainment events during the previous Devendra Fadnavis-led regime.
