Maharashtra hotels one step closer to INDUSTRY STATUS

Maharashtra government takes first step towards bringing non-classified hotels under the purview of ‘industry status’ by forming a committee to oversee certification process.

In a move to bolster the hospitality sector in the state, the Maharashtra government has now begun an official procedure for non-classified hotels to avail industrial concessions. Under this procedure, the Maharashtra Tourism expert committee will inspect the hotels and assess them on a number of criteria set by the government. The hotels can submit their applications for an inspection by the expert committee, and upon fulfilling the criteria set by the state government’s committee, can qualify for industrial concessions. While the government resolution (GR) on this was issued last year, the committee is now actively inviting applications from non-classified hotels across the state to qualify for available taxes and charges at industrial rates. Speaking about the process for accreditation, Dr. Dhananjay D Sawalkar, Jt. Director, Directorate of Tourism (DoT), Government of Maharashtra, says, “We are giving five kinds of benefits to the hoteliers – electricity duty, water charges, property tax, nonagriculture tax, and development charges. So far, we have received 600 applications from various hotels and will now start physically inspecting these hotels to check if they meet the basic minimum parameters set by our expert committee. The certificate to avail ‘industrial rates’ will be accorded only after a hotel is able to meet all parameters clearly listed on the website. In case any hotel is not able to qualify, we will allow time to work upon the weak areas so that the hotel is fully able to comply with the parameters.”

There are a total of 50 parameters in the Maharashtra tourism minimum eligibility criteria list for industry status, which includes areas such as guest rooms, bathrooms, guest service, safety and security, kitchen and food, public area, hotel staff, code of conduct for safe tourism, and facilities for differently-abled guests. There is also a list of (non-mandatory) additional features, which includes parameters such as conference facilities, business centres, F&B outlets, sewage treatment plants, and rainwater harvesting, among others. The certification process by the DoT, Maharashtra is firmly grounded in the endeavour to help the industry recover faster. The hospitality sector has been the hardest hit by the global pandemic, which brought the tourism industry to a complete standstill and left many hotels debt-ridden and scores of hospitality professionals jobless. The certification process for industry status will help hotels avail tariffs and duties on electricity, water, property, development, and non-agricultural taxes at industrial rates. The hotels have been paying all these charges and taxes at commercial rates till now.

Certificate to avail ‘industrial rates’ will be accorded only after a hotel is able to meet all parameters

To encourage sustainable practices and promote conscious tourism, “the parameters for green hotel certification are listed separately”, he says. Whether economic or luxury, a hotel needs to meet the 43 parameters in order to receive the certificate of an eco-friendly hotel. He dubbed it a move that would strengthen the hotel industry in the future. He concludes, “The difference between the commercial rates and industrial rates is about 40 per cent. We hope that, in the long run, hoteliers will extend the benefit to the guests, which in turn will help in increasing the tourist footfall in the state.”