Union Budget 2020: From single-window clearance to GST relief tax benefits, here’s what hospitality industry expects from Nirmala Sitharaman

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to announce her second budget on February 1.
  
• The hospitality industry expects some significant changes that will help improve the troubled hospitality industry and also provide impetus to India’s endeavour to become a tourist destination.
  
• Business Insider India asked some of the expectations hotels have from this year’s budget. And, this is what they had to say.
  

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to announce her second budget on February 1. The hospitality industry expects some significant changes that will help improve the troubled hospitality industry and also provide impetus to India’s endeavour to become a tourist destination. Business Insider India asked some of the expectations hotels have from this year’s budget. And, this is here’s what they had to say:

Single Window Clearance

One of the first reforms that the hotel industry expects from this year’s budget is single-window clearance for licensing. Currently, hotels spend a huge amount of time gathering licenses such as ESI Registration, Bar License, GST registration etc.

“We are expecting reforms to be taken around single-window clearance for all operations related to approval and licensing that makes day to day workings complicated. Further, easing of GST on F&B equivalent to room category could be a great boost for inviting more guests into the hotels," said Preety Arora, Head Business Strategy, Amatra Hotels & Resorts.

Lower Tax

The hospitality industry is also expecting a reduction in taxes laid upon them. This will help them expand especially to help improve infrastructure and create newer tourism destinations.

“The budget should have incentives for setting up hotels in far-flung areas. India has a lot of foreign and domestic tourist potential beyond the well-known destinations. However, these locations lack basic tourism infrastructure including good hotels. The budget should promote that,” said Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder and Managing Director, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts.

Sarkar also wants the government to extend tax benefits and develop new schemes to promote inbound tourism which was not evident in the previous Budget.

Apart from tax reform, some hotels are also demanding a scheme that could help them improve their infrastructure. According to Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director of Bird Group — that manages Roseate Group — expects the government to roll out a scheme to help MSMEs.

“Full-blown infrastructure status for the hotel sector, further rationalization of Goods and Services tax (GST) on hotel rooms and creating an incubation fund by the government for small and medium tourism entrepreneurs in India are some of the expectations from the Budget 2020,” said Ankur Bhatia, executive director of the Bird Group.