The houseboat owners of Alappuzha, Kochi, and Kumarakom face an uncertain future as the state govt has yet to make a concrete decision to scrap the state GST office’s move to collect 18% GST with retrospective effect from 2017.
Though a petition was submitted to the tourism ministry to cancel the move almost three months ago, the state govt is yet to offer a solution.
Boat owners have been paying GST at 5% following an assurance from the central GST officer after a query was made to them during Kerala Travel Mart in 2017.
An tourism department official said the issue was with the finance department and has to be intimated to the Central GST Council. However, Centre says it has not asked for the additional tax.
Source: The Times of India
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