The recently concluded GST Council meet on Saturday announced cut in tax rates for a range of goods and services which bought some relief to the end users - consumers. Some of the goods which were previously taxed under 28 percent has now been bought down to 18 percent.

The move by the government to bring down tax rates was cheered by most of the people in the country. One such cut on tax rate which has been welcomed by the people is slashing of the tax rate on cinema tickets which comes under the services sector.

The cine goers have a reason to smile as the cinema tickets which were previously priced above Rs 100 has been reduced to 18 percent from the previous 28 percent slab and those which were priced up to Rs 100 has been bought down to 12 percent from the previous slab of 18 percent. The effective GST rate cut on movie tickets will come into effect starting from January 1, 2019.

Several multiplexes and Film Industry has welcomed the decision of the government with respect to the GST rate cut on ticket prices. Siddharth Roy Kapur, the President of Film & Television Producers Guild of India, called it a "progressive step", which will attract investment in both exhibition infrastructure and creative development. He also stated that "We look forward to continuing to engage with the government on initiatives that will help to unleash the full potential of the film industry. Cinema can be a significant instrument of Indian soft power around the world while continuing to act as a uniting force for all Indians - a role it has played for more than a century."

Alok Tandon, CEO of multiplex operator INOX Leisure noted that "This will give an impetus to the India film industry. This will ensure penetration of multiplexes more in smaller towns and the real Bharat."

PV Sunil, Managing Director of Carnival Cinemas, stated his company will pass on the benefits from rate reduction to patrons, which in turn would increase footfalls. He further added that the "Overall, it's a great achievement as we have been putting in efforts to achieve this since the time of introduction of GST".

The country has many cine lovers who pre-book movie tickets much before the release of films in the theatres, this particular decision to cut down the GST rates on movie tickets is likely to bring in many people to theatres to enjoy their favourite movie on-screen.