Tag Archives: GST

The Indian travel industry is set to experience a groundbreaking event, as leading professionals come together for the first time on an equal platform to discuss the most pressing challenges confronting the sector. Titled a Revolutionary Travel Industry Meet, this event will focus on critical issues like Tax Collected at Source (TCS), Goods and Services Tax (GST), the need for a Simplified Tax Structure, and Unethical Trade Practices—topics that have long been neglected or entangled in power plays. More than 100+ travel agents and media fraternities attended the session offline and online. The organizers of the event were prominent travel trade members like Shailendra Kumar Shrivastava from Krishana Holidays, Hemant Passi from DuniyaOnline, Pradeep Shishodia from Liana Tourism, Rohit Kumar from Holidays Worldwide and Naveen Nahar, Citadelii Travelz Factory LLP and many others. Apart from travel trade, the session was also attended by Mr. Arjun Akruwala from ASA GST Advisory Services, Mr. Vibhor Gupta from Gupta Vibhor & Associates and Pranaw Kumar Mishra from Pranaw Mishra & Associates. The event is jointly organizing by the group of travel agents where everyone is a President and secretary and a fellow member. This pivotal meeting promises to be a game-changer, offering equal rights and authority to every participant and this meeting ensures that all voices will be heard, and decisions will be made collectively by the travel fraternity. A panel of tax experts and lawyers will be available during the meeting to offer insights and guide participants through potential strategies to overcome these challenges. To make this discussion accessible to the entire travel fraternity, those who were unable to attend in person participated online. This provided them access to live discussions and debates, allowing …

Addressing hospitality industry stakeholders at the HRANI annual conference in Greater Noida, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Tourism, GoI, said that he understands the pain points of the tourism and hospitality industry and will take up the long-standing demands like infrastructure status and GST with PM and FM to find a lasting solution.

Giving his reaction to the Union Budget announced today, PP Khanna, President, ADTOI, said, “The budget was expected to be a comprehensive roadmap for the next five years but appears to lack substantial long-term strategies. Specific sectors, such as tourism, received attention, but the initiatives may seem insufficient in scope.” Commenting further, he said, “The government has implemented GST, which has reduced the compliance burden on trade and industry by unifying the highly fragmented indirect tax regime in India. The tax base of GST has more than doubled, and the average monthly gross GST collection has almost doubled to ₹1.66 lakh crore. On the other hand, no specific information on TCS in the tourism industry is available. The tourism industry has been impacted by the introduction of GST and TCS, with some tour operators and travel agencies facing challenges in complying with the new tax regime. However, the government has taken steps to simplify the tax process and reduce the compliance burden on businesses. The general sentiment is that the budget does not fully meet the high expectations set by previous promises.”

Urging the Government of India ahead of the upcoming Union Budget, Nitin Mittal, Coordinator South, NIMA, said, “The government of India should think of providing GST rebates or GST refunds to the MICE group or international tourists on shopping, if not then at least on the purchase of sustainable products like khadi, and Indian handicrafts.”

FHRAI reiterated one of its key requests in the pre-budget meeting conducted by the Finance Ministry to grant infrastructure status for hotels across all categories and convention centres built at a project cost of ₹10 crore and above to give a fillip to the budget segment in the industry, along with 12 per cent GST rate across all hotels.

HRAWI recommends reform in GST framework for restaurants within hotel premises. “The sudden jump in GST from 5 per cent to 18 per cent when room rates exceed ₹7500/-, creates uncertainty for guests and places hotels at a disadvantage. We have submitted a representation to the Government,” said Pradeep Shetty, President, HRAWI.

IATO has thanked Finance Minister, GST Council and the Chairman CBIC for favourably considering  two of its recommendations- removal of, GST on services provided outside India to foreign tourists if they take combined package of India and neighbouring countries and  secondly GST for the ferry service hired for transport of passengers including tourists used as public transport from point to point transport in Andaman & aNicobar Islands,  in the GST Council meeting held in Chandigarh.

Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, at a post-budget interaction with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, put forth the difficulties being faced by civil aviation, travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. He requested her to consider granting infrastructure status to these sectors to facilitate lending by banks and financial institutions. He also requested the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s support for inclusion of Aviation Turbine Fuel under GST. The FM gave a positive response to consider these issues.

Taking measures to mitigate COVID-19 impacts on the industry, the Rajasthan Government has extended a helping hand to hotels and tour operators registered in the State. According to an order by the state government, it has been decided to reimburse State Tax due and deposited by hotels and tour operators registered under Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The order for a reimbursement of State Tax due and deposited to hotels and tour operators will come into effect from April 1 and will remain in force till June 30. ‘State Tax due and deposited’ means the amount of State Tax (SGST) paid through debit in the electronic cash ledger account maintained by the enterprise after complete utilisation of the available amount of input tax credit of the SGST and Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST). This order will be applicable for taxable persons registered under the category of hotels, heritage hotels, resorts and tour operators. However, it will not cover stand-alone restaurants and clubs. Beneficiaries will be entitled for reimbursement of State Tax due and deposited in the operative period in the manner as may be prescribed, provided no reimbursement under this order is available for SGST to be leviable and paid on rental or leasing services, including own or leased non-residential property.

Voicing his opinion of the Union Budget, Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, Interim President, FHRAI, said, “The industry expectations were high but the Union Budget has neglected us completely and we are disappointed yet again. While the Govt. wants to give impetus to hospitality and tourism and our. PM has envisioned big things for the sector, there is no mention except for the 17 tourist-friendly spots which we welcome. We were expecting reforms in rate slabs of GST, Input Tax Credit and a definitive step to boost the domestic and inbound traffic. Hospitality plays a vital role in the growth of the economy therefore this sector cannot be ignored. It is one of the biggest contributors to GDP, taxes, Foreign Exchange and most importantly in generating employment. The success of Incredible India lies in managing its hospitality and tourism right and requires policy support.”