BHOPAL: Come July 1, all of 378 municipal bodies in the state will have an additional task of collecting entertainment tax from July 1, the date after which Goods and Services Tax (GST) kicks in.This is one function, civic bodies have no experience about. Department of commercial tax (CT)-- the government agency responsible for collecting entertainment tax will not be able to do so after the GST comes into effect.With barely two months left for the implementation of the GST, state authorities are unclear on system that will be put in place to collect entertainment tax which is levied on cinemas, multiplexes, cable operators, hotels, live concerts and sports events like IPL matches. State finance minister Jayant Malaiya said: "I have to check who will collect the entertainment tax after the GST. As many as 11 meetings were held on the GST up till now. Things are being worked out and will be put in place soon."The CT department collected around Rs 100 crore in form of entertainment tax in last financial year. Officials said entertainment tax collected by CT department will be subsumed in the GST. In such a situation, the state government is set to face revenue loss. If the state government wants to collect entertainment tax after the GST, it can do it through municipal bodies. But municipal bodies in the state lack tax collection expertise.The role of municipal bodies is restricted to collecting property tax and water cess, which on many occasions proves an uphill task in major cities like Bhopal and Indore with huge municipal corporations. The situation is worse in municipal bodies of small towns.Senior officials of the commercial tax (CT) department said a system could be followed wherein the commercial tax department collects the entertainment tax as it is a current practice. "The department has staff and the expertise. We can collect revenue and give it to the urban administration department, which governs municipal bodies. But it will require urban administration's go-ahead and a decision in this regard can be taken at the chief minister's level," officials said. Experts believe the issue can become a bone of contention among the CT department and urban administration and development department.

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