Bengaluru: In good news for foodies in Bengaluru, who fill its many restaurants at all times of the day and evening, the association of hotel owners has appealed to the Union government to cut the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 12 to 5 per cent on food served in non-airconditioned hotels.
The move comes even as talks are on to reduce the tax from 18 to 12 per cent on food served in air-conditioned restaurants.
Noting that GST is burning a hole in the pockets of many Bengalureans, Mr B Chandrashekar, president of the Bengaluru Hotels and Restaurants Association, says it has appealed to the Centre to cut back on the tax in all non-AC hotels.
“A 12 per cent tax is too much for people eating in a non-AC hotel and our business has been hit as a result,” he told the Deccan Chronicle, adding that a five per cent tax was quite enough.
“In a city like Bengaluru, where over 65 per cent of the population is migrant and 45 per cent of this number eats in hotels every day, the high GST is proving very expensive. We hope the government will cut the tax to help both the hoteliers and their customers,” he said. Mr M Rajendra, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Hotels and Restaurant Association, agrees that the GST for non-AC hotels is high as they are frequented by ordinary people, who cannot pay a big bill every day.
A city hotelier says while in the past most wanted a uniform GST for both AC and non- AC restaurants, now hoteliers in Karnataka would like the tax for non – AC hotels to be cut to 5 per cent to make their food more affordable.
