Shimla hotel, tourism stakeholders plead for rollback of new tax on tourist vehicles

PTI

Shimla, September 20

Hoteliers and tourism stakeholders on Wednesday urged the Himachal government to roll back its decision to impose a new tax on tourist vehicles registered outside the state, pleading that the levy will crush the industry which is already under stress due to natural calamities in past months.  

"The new tax imposed by the transport department on tourist buses and tempo travellers will ruin the hotel and tourism industry and cause huge losses to stakeholders”, said Mohinder Seth, president of the Association.

He requested the government to withdraw the tax for the survival of tourism and allied industries.

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on September 6 announced that luxury buses registered in other states running in Himachal Pradesh without permission (without paying tax) would be charged Rs 5,000 per day from September 1.

However, the buses running in the industrial belt of Baddi-Barotiwala- Nalagarh would be exempted for one month, Agnihotri, who also holds the portfolio of transport department, had maintained.

There are 200-250 such buses and this initiative is aimed at generating additional revenue of estimated Rs 10 crore, he had added.

Luxury buses coming from outside the state would have to pay Rs 5,000 per day, Rs 25,000 per week or Rs 75,000 per month or Rs 9 lakh per annum for plying buses in the state.

A large number of groups from Gujarat, Bengal and Maharashtra travel to Himachal by tourist buses and tempo travelers and imposition of new tax on tourist vehicles has badly hit the business of tour operators, who are boycotting Himachal, Seth said.

The tour operators of Gujarat have already stopped bringing their groups to Himachal and after imposition of the new tax, the tour operators from other states are also showing reluctance to bring tourists to Himachal and deleting the state from their itinerary, Seth said.

He added that large groups of tourists from West Bengal visit Himachal during Durga Puja holidays but now they are cancelling their bookings, increasing the tension of hoteliers.

The impact of boycotts and cancellations will not only harm the business of hoteliers but the government would also lose revenue from GST and other taxes and the hopes of the tourism industry to get good business in coming days, have been dashed.

As per the officials of the tourism department, Himachal lost about Rs 2000 crore during the months of July and August as heavy rains wreaked havoc, damaging road infrastructure -the lifelines of hill state.

The tourism sector contributes 7 per cent (over Rs 14,000 crore) to the State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP) and provides around 14.42 per cent direct and indirect employment.  

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