THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance minister Dr T M Thomas Isaac has directed the Commercial Sales Tax Department to launch a crackdown on hotels and restaurants that were fleecing consumers in the name of GST. The minister, while addressing tax officials here on Monday, said they should bring to book restaurants and eateries that were not registered but were still charging GST.
“Further, hotels with a turnover of up to '75 lakh are in the GST composition scheme, under which they need to charge a tax of only 5 percent,” the finance minister said. “It has also come to our notice that even those restaurants that have not registered under GST are charging GST at 18 percent,” the minister added. Not all restaurants and eateries are eligible to charge GST. Non-registered businesses are not allowed to charge the new tax. Only 3000-odd restaurants, the minister said, have taken registration. Under the GST, restaurants are divided into three categories: the highest rate of 28 percent is levied on luxurious or 5-star hotels or restaurants in the same category, A/C and alcohol-serving restaurants or restro-bars attract 18 percent GST, and non-AC or non-alcohol serving hotels or restaurants are subject to a GST of 12 percent.
The minister said that the State Screening Committee of the Anti-Profiteering Authority would be formed next week. “If there are complaints, the public can submit the faulty bill to the nearest sales tax office, which will then hand over the complaint and the supporting documents to the State Screening Committee,” Dr Isaac said. There has been an initial disappointment for the State under the GST regime. “We could mobilise a GST of only '500 crore, which is at least '500 crore less than what we had expected,” Isaac said.”This has been the case with all other states, too,” he added. .
