ISLAMABAD
Senior Vice President of All Pakistan Hotels Association and Chairman Central of Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP) Mian Akram Farid while addressing the meeting said that the government is sympathetic to meet the legitimate demands of the hotel industry.
Consider that this industry can develop better and create new employment opportunities, since January, WAPDA has imposed extra tax and further tax on electricity bills despite having a registered business address for sales tax. This action is ignoring the registered business address.
Taking only the name into consideration, which is a gross exaggeration, the hotel industry is an important source of revenue for the country, while 50 to 60 million people are associated with the hotel industry in Pakistan and lakhs of workers are employed in this industry. Therefore, special attention should be given to the better development of this industry.
He expressed these views during the meeting of Pakistan Hotels Association, adding that due to the absence of a national tourism policy and a consistent policy framework for the hotel industry, no new major hotel chain has opened in Pakistan since 1990. did not come He said that the government can get a lot of revenue by creating favorable conditions for this industry and solving its major problems.
Mian Akram Farid, Senior Vice Chairman of Pakistan Hotels Association, demanded that the government abolish the import duties and regulatory duties imposed on the import of machinery and other goods for the hotel industry as these duties have increased the cost of doing business and cost of goods. There is a delay in clearance.
He said that according to the current market rate, land prices have increased many times while there are many difficulties in promoting this industry due to the presence of various taxes and levies on the hotel industry. Capital investors invest all capital in purchasing land for hotels so that land is provided to this industry at government rates.
He further said that in order to reduce the 22% high interest rate, the current tariff of electricity and gas should be appropriately reduced in the tariff of this industry. Foreign consultants face many restrictions and complications while making official foreign currency remittances and these conditions need to be relaxed. Immediate action should be taken against the illegal guesthouses established in the federal capital Islamabad.
He said that earlier the CDA had closed the guest houses in the residential areas of Islamabad, but now again the guest houses in the residential sectors and streets of Islamabad have been destroyed, apart from the residential apartments. Being used as gate houses. Due to this reason, the government is also losing crores of rupees in monthly sales tax, income tax and property tax.
Due to the absence of taxes on flats and guest houses, hotel customers are shifting to flats and guest houses. Therefore, these issues should be resolved soon. The participants demanded that the bed tax be abolished at the federal and provincial levels so that the industry can survive, and the government should also consider reducing the federal and provincial sales tax on hotels to 10 percent. or at least reduce the rate of taxes by amending the relevant sales tax laws;
