Delegates of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) recently met G Kishan Reddy, the Union Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Development of the North-Eastern Region on his visit to Mumbai and presented him with a wish-list of the hospitality industry. The list highlighted the concerns and recommendations for the revival and growth of the sector after the two turbulent years of the pandemic, reported ETTravelWorld.
HRAWI has requested the minister to consider granting Infrastructure Status to hotels and for better credit facilities for the sector. To augment the growth of tourism and hospitality, the association has requested investment subsidies and tax holidays for investments in tourism projects.
“We thank G Kishan Reddy Garu for taking the time out to meet with us during his short visit to Mumbai and for giving us the opportunity to submit a comprehensive representation of the sector’s topmost priorities for its revival. We have requested the minister to consider making tourism a National Priority Sector since tourism and hospitality are the key drivers to accelerating the socio-economic development of the country. Also, as part of the celebrations of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism, we have proposed organising food festivals across the Western region,” said Sherry Bhatia, President, HRAWI.
“GST rates for hospitality in India are one of the highest in the world and this makes both domestic and inbound tourism expensive.”
— Pradeep Shetty, Senior Vice-President, HRAWI
The minister suggested that the hospitality industry participated in such CSR activities that aid in the maintenance and preservation of historic places and monuments. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been requested to prepare a report on the subject and HRAWI has accepted the proposal wholeheartedly, said Bhatia.
“GST rates for hospitality in India are one of the highest in the world and this makes both domestic and inbound tourism expensive. We’ve requested that the 18 per cent GST category for hotels above room rates of INR 7500 be annulled and be merged with the category of 12 per cent GST rate. Similarly, restaurants should be allowed to avail of the option to either charge a composite GST @5 per cent with no input tax credit or charge GST @12 per cent with full input tax credit and that the rate be delinked from any room tariffs if they are part of hotels,” said Pradeep Shetty, Senior Vice-President, HRAWI.
*************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com