Coming as a big blow to budget travellers (and travellers in general), starting today, all hotel rooms – even those priced below INR 1,000 – will come under the GST bracket. Here’s all that we know. By Anushka Goel
If you’ve been saving for your backpacking sojourn for a while now, here’s some news for you that you might not like. You will now have to add some more funds to the savings, as hotel rooms are set to get costlier, starting July 18. According to a recent release by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, rooms priced below INR 1,000 will now be charged a GST of 12 per cent.
All hotel rooms come under GST bracket – how will this affect you?
Earlier, hotel rooms below INR 1,000 were exempt from tax, while those above this price point and below INR 7,500 were charged at 12 per cent GST. Further, hotel rooms above INR 7,500 were put under the 18 per cent GST bracket. The new update, which the GST Council came to after a two-day meeting, puts all rooms upto INR 7,500 under the 12 per cent bracket.
Speaking to Economic Times, Poonam Harjani, Leader, Indirect Tax Research and Advisory, Taxmann.com said, “So far, services by a hotel, inn, guest house, club or campsite for residential or lodging purposes, having value of supply of a unit of accommodation below or equal to INR 1,000 per day or equivalent, has been exempt from GST. The GST Council has recommended to withdraw the said exemption and apply 12 per cent GST rate thereon. With this rate amendment, effectively all hotels having declared tariff of INR 7,500 or below will be liable to GST at the rate of 12 per cent. That said, levy of GST on low-cost hotels will make the holidaying more expensive for common man (sic).”
This effectively means that in case you booked a hotel room for INR 1,000, you’ll now have to shell out INR 1,120 for the same – which you may have earlier kept for daily expenses and more. Some other goods and sercives, including packaged items such as lassi and curd, are also set to fall under the GST bracket now.
Hero and Featured Image: Courtesy of Alexander Kaunas/Unsplash
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Anushka Goel
Digital Features Writer
Anushka has previously worked with publications such as the Times of India and Being Indian. A graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, she specialises in entertainment, food and travel. She also likes to write about sustainability and beauty. When not working, you can catch her reading a book, tending to her plants, cooking or playing an instrument.
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