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TMI Blog1980 (8) TMI 200X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aid Act read as under : CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS EXPOSED Tariff Item No. Description of Goods Rate of Duty Basic Special Excise 37 CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS Exposed of a width below 30 mm of 30 mm. in width or higher. (1) Newsreels and shorts 15 paise per mtr. 10 paise per mtr. 20% of the baisc duty chargeable (2) Feature films, advertisment shorts 50 paise per mtr.and films not otheriwise specified This Item No. 37 was thereafter substituted by a new Item 37 by the Finance Act, 1969, and it read as follows : 37 CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS : I Unexposed II Exposed : of a width of 30 mm. or higher. Two paise per metre below 30 mm. in width (1) Newsreels and shorts not exceeding 500 metres Fifty paise per metre Thirty paise per metre (2) Feature films, ad-vertisement shorts and films not otherwise specified One rupee and fifty Paise per metre One rupee per metre. 3. Prior to this amendment by the Finance Act, 1969, the excise authorities did not levy any duty upon the censor certificate length of the film. However, by a Circular letter dated February 10, 1969, the Central ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... controlled by the direction issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs. (2) Secondly it was urged that the censorship certificate length of the film did not attract levy under Item No. 37 of the First Schedule to the Act. The learned trial Judge accepted both these contentions and declared the levy of duty on the censorship length of the film as illegal and set aside the impugned orders and the demand notice. The appellants have, therefore, filed this appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent challenging the order of the learned trial Judge. 4. Mr. Dalal, the learned Counsel appearing for the appellants, did not dispute the correctness of the finding of the learned trial Judge on the first question. He conceded that the authorities could not have passed the orders merely in obedience to the directions issued in the Circular of February 10, 1969. It was, however, argued by Mr. Dalal that the view taken by the learned trial Judge on merits of the case is not correct. He submitted that the censorship certificate length of the film become an integral part of the original film before it is exhibited, and as such, it is clearly covered by Entry No. 37. In any event, he ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the former case and an "A" certificate in the latter case and shall in either case cause the film to be so marked in the prescribed manner. Sub-section (2) of Section 5-A provides that a certificate granted or an order refusing to grant a certificate in respect of any film shall be published in the Gazette of India. Section 6-A relates to the information and documents to be given to distributors and exhibitors with respect to certified films. Under the said provision, any person who delivers any certified film to any distributor or exhibitor shall in such manner as may be prescribed, notify to the distributor or exhibitor, as the case may be, the title, the length of the film, the number and the nature of the certificate granted in respect thereof and the conditions, if any, subject to which it has been so granted, and any other particulars respecting the film which may be prescribed. Section 7 provides penalty for exhibiting films without censorship certificate being obtained. Section 7-A confers power of seizure of a film on the authorities concerned where a film in respect of which no certificate has been granted under the Act, and/or a film certified as suitable for public ex ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lied on Rule 36 of the said Rules. It runs as under: - Certificate. - (1) A certificate authorising the public exhibition of a film shall be in one of the Forms IV or V set out in the Schedule according as the authorisation is for unrestricted public exhibition or for public exhibition restricted to adults. (2) The certificate shall be signed for and on behalf of the Board by the Chairman or by a Regional Officer for the Chairman. (3) The prescribed mark of the Board shall be a film copy of the certificate, i.e. a trailer certificate, which shall be affixed to the film and always exhibited with it. The length of the trailer certificate will be as laid down in the following table - TABLE Size of film Length of film Length of the trailer certificate 35 m.m. Exceeding 2,000 feet 15 feet 35 m.m. 2,000 feet or less 10 feet 16 m.m. Exceeding 800 feet 6 feet 16 m.m. 800 feet or less 4 feet Provided that where the length of the film does not exceed 400 feet or 160 feet according as the film is in 35 mm or 16 mm, the prescribed mark of the Board shall be the trailer certificate as provided in this sub-rule or the Board's stamp as in Form VII, embossed on the main title c ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... articular certificate. The Legislature could as well have provided for some other mode of marking the certificate. To mark the certificate by annexing film copy of the certificate does not make it a part of the film, nor can it be said that it becomes a film as defined by the Cinematograph Act. 10. The scheme of the relevant provisions make it plain that a completed film has to be presented before the Board of Censors for getting the certificate. The Board of Censors on its scrutiny takes a decision as to whether the certificate should be granted or not, and if it decides to grant the certificate, whether it should be of a particular type for public exhibition. The rules prescribe the necessary procedure for making the application. The certificate also is in prescribed form for the particulars to be mentioned in the certificate, one of them being the length of the film, which obviously does not include the censorship certificate length of the film. Sub-rule (3) of Rule 36 shows that the certificate has to be marked in a particular manner, viz. a copy of the certificate should be affixed to the film. Instead of prescribing this mode, it could as well be provided that the cert ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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