Top Goa hoteliers urge GST cut on room tariff

Panaji, Sep 18 (IANS) Top hoteliers and tourism industry stakeholders met Union Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Prahlad Singh Patel here on Wednesday and sought reduction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on room tariff to help the state compete with international destinations like Thailand and Sri Lanka.

The memorandum submitted to Patel by the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), one of the oldest association of stakeholders from the respective industries, comes two days before the Goods and Services Tax council meeting, which is scheduled to be held in the coastal state.

In the memorandum, the TTAG has sought a staggered rationalisation in the tax slabs on hotel room tariffs.

The existing GST on rooms priced at Rs 7,500 and above is 28 per cent and on rooms priced in the range of Rs 2,500 to 7,499 it is 18 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.

"We have requested GST to be reduced to 12 per cent for both price slabs," according to the association's president Savio Messias.

For hotel rooms priced between Rs 1,000-Rs 2,499, the GST is currently levied at 12 per cent, which the Association wants reduced to 5 per cent.

The Association in its memorandum has also demanded delinking of GST levied on in-house restaurants in hotels from their respective room rates.

"GST charged on restaurant services should be delinked from room rates and a flat 5 per cent GST should be levied," the memorandum said.

Goa is one of the top tourism destinations in the country and attracts nearly eight million tourists annually. In recent times however, tourism industry stakeholders have complained that high taxation was proving to be a deterrent to the prospects of the hotel and tourism industry.