Kerala: Amusement parks face closure threat post GST

KOCHI: Twenty odd amusement parks in the state are upset over the 28 per cent GST levied on them by the government bracketing them as luxury along with casinos and gambling. They said that the measure has made most of the amusement parks unviable and also deter new entrants to the industry. “We are not a luxury segment. The fact is that 80 per cent of our customers belong to the middle class. Our main customers are government schools, Kudumbashree, anganavadi and the like. For schools in Kerala, amusement parks are the safe destination for annual tours,” said the office-bearers of Kerala chapter of Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) at a press conference here.

“Our industry is highly capital intensive and its operational cost is also high but generates large scale employment both direct and indirect. The operational cost is also very high. They said that in the earlier regime the tax hovered around 17 per cent including service tax and entertainment tax. They demanded that the GST should be reduced to 12 per cent and the tour of school and other educational institutions should be exempted from GST. Amusement parks should be classified into different categories, as in the case of restaurant industry. “Unless the rates are brought down, we will be forced to increase rates which will kill the industry,” they added.