In-Mumbai premises sealed

The company had filed a petition recently since all revenue claims have a mandatory 30-day notice period allowing time to appeal to the department. Suburban District Collector Dr Sanjay Chahande told Express Newsline that Revenue officials had visited the IN Network office to collect the tax arrears but were unable to collect the dues. "Once the payment is made we will remove the restrictions," he said.

"The dispute pertains to the interpretation ofthe act with regard to collections for our entertainment magazine, which is sought to be included under the purview of entertainment duty," a senior executive of the network explained. Deputy Collector (Suburban), Rajendra Bhosale, said the officials from the entertainment branch of the Collector’s Office had visited the network’s Andheri office as March 31 ends tomorrow and the department had to complete its formalities. The company, however, said it is willing to give a cheque "under protest" for the alleged arrears but the officials insisted on a pay order, which was not possible at such short notice, the executive explained. "This unreasonable attitude is despite IN Network being the highest entertainment duty payer in the state, contributing about 20 per cent of the collections in spite of having less than 0.5 per cent of the total number of direct subscribers in the state," the executive added.

The company, denying that their office was sealed today, says transmission services of the network areoperating as usual.

General Manager (Corporate Communications), Hima Mehta, declined to comment, saying the matter is sub-judice.