Maharashtra awards industry status to hospitality sector

Maharashtra cabinet cleared a proposal to give the hospitality sector the status of an industry. It will help boost the sluggish hospitality sector, officials said. Aaditya Thackeray, Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister communicated the decision through a tweet, saying after reduction of pre-establishment licenses from 70 to10, and industry status will give much needed support to hotels. “We look forward to more global hotels coming to Maharashtra, with the state being the easiest to set up business in and the friendliest to run it,” Thackeray tweeted.

In the first phase, it has been decided to levy electricity tariff, water supply charges, property tax, development tax and non-agricultural tax on hotels registered with ministry of tourism at industrial rates instead of commercial rates from April 1, 2021. This will mean annual electricity rates and other land-related rates will reduce significantly.