Cut GST on ropeways to 5 pc, Himachal Govt urges Centre

Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 20

The Himachal Pradesh Government has urged the Centre to reduce the GST rate from 18 to 5 per cent by adding a specific entry related to ropeways and other unconventional modes of transportation in the category of services covered under 5 per cent GST.

In a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur apprised her that Himachal had taken a decision to use the concept of ropeways for transportation of passengers and goods throughout the state. “The objective behind this decision is to connect the left-out habitations where construction of roads is not environmentally and economically feasible. It also aims at connecting new places of tourist attraction and exploring new opportunities for employment generation and economic growth,” he said.

Thakur said the government had created Ropeways and Rapid Transportation System Development Corporation (RTDC) as a single nodal agency for the construction of ropeways and other mass rapid transportation systems. Therefore, the ropeways would not act merely as the tourist attraction but also help in providing sustainable means of transport in rural areas.

Thakur said the ropeways and other unconventional modes of transport are not defined separately under specific entry of GST schedules. “To make ropeway projects financially viable for mass transit, the GST rates on ropeways and other unconventional modes of transportation system should be equated with conventional road transportation so that the investments in the ropeways projects are received,” he said.

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