Despite its anguish over the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA) has said it will not join the State-wide shutdown being organised by the Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti (KVVES) on Tuesday.
The association plans to take up the collective concerns of the industry directly with the State government and strive for a solution without resorting to a shutdown. “The small entrepreneurs in the industry were facing difficulties over GST, but the majority was not passing on the burden to customers,” they claimed.
“Tuesday’s strike is not likely to disrupt the functioning of any of the hotels in Kozhikode district as the association has already called upon its members to function as usual,” said Muhammed Suhail, district president of KHRA. He added that about 5,000 hotels and restaurants in the district were expected to cooperate with the call.
Mr. Suhail said claims that hotels were charging unfairly high rates after the implementation of GST were irrational. He said hotel owners had nothing to do with the price revision on AC room service after the GST rollout.
He added that the biggest victims of the GST regime were small scale restaurant owners, who were being forced to spend a huge amount for migrating to the new tax regime, while having to bear the brunt of lower customer patronage.
Hotel and restaurant owners in the city said the new tax regime was unfair to them as they were being treated equally with their star hotel counterparts in the industry.
However, consumer organisations have alleged that the hoteliers were uninformed about the new GST regime and were trying to use it as a tool to exploit customers. “Many hotels are imposing unfair charges on customers without providing the prescribed standard of service,” said Kerala Consumer Association president Salam Vellayil.
