Restaurants, bars in city will remain closed tomorrow

VASHI: Restaurants and bars in the city will remain closed on Monday to protest the introduction of Local Body Tax (LBT) and other problems that are being faced by the hotel industry.

About 2,000 restaurants in the city are expected to take part in the bandh that has been called by Navi Mumbai Hotel Owners Association (NMHOA). The NMHOA, which has 800 members, is expecting that nonmembers, lunch homes and fast food joints will also be a part of the protest.

Restaurant owners said that their business would be hit hard because of LBT, especially since licence fees have also been increased. They claimed that fine amounts had also seen a rise in the recent past.

With the introduction of LBT, restaurant owners in the city will now have to pay taxes at the rate of 7% instead of 4%. Further, restaurants will also have to give details of the recipe of each dish and the quantity served. Any violation could attract a penalty of up to Rs1 lakh.

Sham Shetty, advisor of NMHOA said, “Our hotels are not star hotels. There are dif- ferent cooks who work in various shifts and prepare food as per their own recipes. The quantity served may also vary at times.” Shetty added that although these things are not done on purpose, now they would attract fines of Rs1 lakh.”

“With the food and licence renewal fee also being increased, LBT will only increase the burden further,” said Shetty. “Thus, the bandh is to protest LBT and other burdens that our industry is facing.”