The Delhi High Court has passed an order restraining Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) from collecting more than 15 per cent of the special license fee from hotels, bars and restaurants organising programmes for Valentine's Day.
The interim order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice HR Malhotra on a batch of writ petitions filed by hotel owners through the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI).
NRAI counsel Anip Sachthey challenged imposition of the special license fee and annual license fee by the two organisations as wholly illegal and arbitrary and hence sought that they be quashed.
He argued that whenever important events like New Years' Eve, Christmas or Valentine's Day bashes were held, PPL was arbitrarily enhancing the special fees due from organisers.
Sachthey pointed out that the organisers were being subjected to two different types of license fees for the same event, since IPRS was already collecting an annual license fee for organising music programmes at these locations.