THE INDIAN Ministry of Tourism is taking up the cudgels for the industry in the battle against the proposed new service taxes on hotel rooms (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 11).
Anand Kumar, joint secretary of the Government of India’s Ministry of Tourism, said Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahay was in talks with the Ministry of Finance to “rationalise the tax and be considerate to the trade”.
Kumar said: “We’re still in discussion (with the Ministry of Finance) and have asked them to take the national picture into consideration.”
In reaction, Dipak Deva, Kuoni Destination Management’s CEO Destination Management, India & South Asia, said: “The industry has made the proper representation to the government and (we) hope it takes our plea into consideration.”
Saying he was not against taxes, Deva believed the industry should be given time to adjust to the new tax regime, should it be passed. Since business is contracted 10 to 12 months in advance, tour operators need 12 months’ lead time to meet their contractual obligations, he said.
But Sanjeev Joshi, ICS India director, said: “The tourism lobby is so poor. There is not much we can do about these taxes.”
– Full report in TTG India
By Ollie Quiniquini
