The Art Was Flawless. The Books? Not So Much.
Creative studios thrive on storytelling, visuals, and flawless delivery.
But behind the lights, cameras, and action — one thing often gets overlooked:
Clean financials and compliant books.
We worked with a leading production studio right after they wrapped a ₹4 Cr OTT project — and what we found was a ticking time bomb.
Unpaid taxes. Missing documentation. No TDS deductions.
If left unchecked, it could’ve cost them over ₹47L in penalties and losses.
Here’s how we fixed it — and how your studio can stay safe too.
Behind the Scenes: How We Helped a Film Studio Save ₹47L in Taxes
🎭 The Backdrop: A Film Studio in Growth Mode
This studio had:
- Delivered 6+ high-budget projects in 2 years
- Recently completed a ₹4Cr OTT production
- Crew, cast, and vendors spread across India
- No in-house finance team — only a part-time bookkeeper
The projects were creatively successful.
But the backend was broken.
💣 The Problems We Uncovered
Within the first 7 days of our audit, we flagged:
🚫 Vendor Payments Without GST
Many vendors weren’t GST-registered — and the studio didn’t withhold reverse charge.
Result: Input Tax Credit (ITC) not available + exposure to GST notices.
⚠️ Crew Advances Not Recorded
Advances to actors and crew were made via UPI or cash, but not backed by contracts or proper journal entries.
That’s a red flag during any tax audit.
🛠 Equipment Hire Without Agreements
The studio rented high-value cameras, lights, and gear — but had no formal lease agreements.
No contracts = no depreciation tracking + legal exposure.
❌ No TDS Deducted
This was the biggest issue.
No TDS was deducted from vendor payments, triggering ₹47L in liability over 4 financial quarters.
Add late fees, interest, and show-cause notices — this could’ve spiraled fast.
🧰 Our 3-Step Fix
We didn’t just clean books.
We structured their backend like a production pipeline.
1️⃣ Compliance Repair
- Filed backdated GST and TDS with interest
- Generated missing challans + vendor TDS certificates
- Responded to existing notices to stop escalation
2️⃣ Financial Clean-Up
- Reconciled all project expenses with vendor invoices
- Structured payroll vs. freelance vs. contractor buckets
- Tracked advances and reimbursements under the right heads
3️⃣ Tax Optimization
- Used Section 80JJAA to claim deductions on crew hires
- Restructured high-cost rentals into asset leasing to maximise depreciation
- Created project-based costing units to segregate spends + revenue
💡 Bonus Hacks We Implemented
- Created SPVs (Special Purpose Vehicles) for future productions to ring-fence financial and legal risk
- Pre-negotiated GST refunds on advertising and media buys
- Setup SOPs for crew onboarding and payment tracking
✅ The Final Impact — In Just 90 Days
- ₹47L+ in taxes saved via smart restructuring
- 3 pending show-cause notices closed without penalty
- Books cleaned and ready for their next OTT pitch
🎥 Run a Film Studio or Production House?
If you’re working project-to-project, juggling crew payments, and skipping tax reconciliations — it’s only a matter of time before you hit trouble.
But with the right finance partner, your backend can run as tight as your shoot schedule.
📩 DM us “STUDIO FIX” and we’ll review your books.
No jargon. Just clean numbers. Get in touch with Pitchers Global today!