Tag Archives: Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India

The Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) thanks the BMC and the Government of Maharashtra for the 3-month waiver on property tax for the industry. However, it has requested to grant waiver to all hotels as well as restaurants for a six-month period, during which they were asked to remain shut. Gurbaxish Singh Kohli, President, HRAWI, adds, “We have not been paid for the cost of operation borne by us towards quarantining essential workers.”

The Maharashtra State Excise Department has issued a notification to all concerned authorities to begin reissuing or renewing licences of bars and permit rooms affected by the highway liquor ban, which had come into effect from April 1, 2017. The move comes on the back of the Supreme Court’s clarification regarding the non-applicability of ban on sale of alcohol in hotels and restaurants within municipal limits. The notification states, effective September 4, 2017, any liquor vend or liquor serving establishment that may have been affected by the ban can apply for renewal of their licences after providing the required documents and paying the necessary fees. Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel & Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), reveals, “In the last five months, the industry has suffered a loss of roughly Rs. 5000 crore and this is only in the State of Maharashtra. The notification will provide relief to approximately 25,000 restaurants and 5,000 hotels operating on the State and National Highways and which fall under either Municipal Corporations or City Councils or Cantonment Boards or Town Municipalities. HRAWI will continue to work in the best interest of the industry and wishes all its stakeholders a speedy recovery.”