NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court has stayed Maharashtra’s levy of stamp duty on advertisements on a petition by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, challenging a Bombay High Court judgment of October 27.
The Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar held that the matter requires debate since it involves sacrosanctity of freedom of speech and expression with regard to electronic and print media.
Listing further hearing on September 13, the Court on Monday asked the foundation members to give a summary of revenue earned through advertisements.
Under dispute is the amendment in the Bombay Stamp Act effective from August 8, 2015, that imposes a levy of 0.25% duty on agreements relating to any advertisement on the mass media.
Senior Advocate Arvind P Datar, appearing for the foundation, asserted that the state legislature cannot impose a tax on anything shown on television, radio or newspaper as it amounts to smother their effective sustenance since it takes away huge revenue from the TV channels hampering the cause of freedom of speech and expression not constitutionally permissible.
On behalf of the Maharashtra government, senior advocate K K Venugopal contended that the stamp duty is to be paid by the advertising agencies and as such, neither the electronic nor the print media were affected or their freedom of press, speech, and expression affected. Arguing that levy of stamp duty has nothing to do with these freedoms; he asserted that the state legislature is fully empowered to impose it on the revenue generation.
