49th FHRAI meet on Sept 12–15

The association has requested for the inclusion of hospitality establishments in RBI’s priority lending norms up to a limit of ` 25 crore, to ease the availability of credit, both for hotels and restaurants.

The association is gearing up for its 49th Annual Convention that will be held in Jaipur from September 12–15, 2014. Highlighting the problems that FHRAI would like the new government to address,

SM Shervani, President, FHRAI says, “We need easy financing, licensing, higher FSIs and land banks so that cheaper land is available to the industry.” “Moreover, we continue to actively pursue the demand for lowering the minimum project cost mandated for inclusion of hotels in the RBI’s Infrastructure Lending List from

` 200 crore to ` 50 crore,” he reveals. The forthcoming Union Budget 2014-15, which is scheduled to be presented in June, will be an important chance for the new administration to demonstrate its strategic vision and progressive agenda of governance. At the invitation of the Ministry of Finance, the association has

The relatively high tax incidence has an adverse impact on leveraging the potential of domestic tourism, since many Indians find it more inexpensive to holiday abroad

SM Shervani

President, FHRAI

submitted a Pre- Budget Memorandum, which articulates the industry’s aspirations from the budget and gives specific recommendations and proposals.

Lamenting the state of tourism in the country, he says, “While most of our peers in South- East Asia have adopted a streamlined tax regime for their tourism sector, with moderate rates ranging from just 6-10 per cent, the tax burden on foreign tourists visiting India often works out to an unfathomable 25- 30 per cent.”

“The relative high tax incidence has an equally adverse impact on our ability to optimally leverage the latent potential of the domestic tourism segment, since many Indians find it more inexpensive to holiday abroad as compared to patronising leisure destinations within India,” Sherwani comments.