Hoteliers, pharmacies close shutters for a day, but can they say no to GST?
- The proposed 18-28 percent tax under GST must be rolled back say hoteliers
- They are asking for the old rate of 5 per cent to be continued
- This GST is likely to affect the small and medium hotels, pharmacies
FollowPharmacies, hotels and restaurants remained shut across Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday against the high rate of taxation under the new GST regime. While the pharmacists shut their business protesting the new drug policy and demanding that online sale of medicines be banned, hoteliers resented the new GST regime.
GST was implemented despite opposition from various quarters of states. Experts are of the opinion that it will affect the small and medium hotels and pharmacy centres as there is a chance they might lose out on the business.
People who give business to such places might not be in a position to afford the new taxes resulting in the loss of income to these hotels and pharmacies. However, here is how the bandh affected Andhra Pradesh.
In Adoni in Kurnool district, pharmacists took out a protest rally as part of the nation-wide call. In Vijayawada, Guntur, Visakhapatnam and other major cities, only a handful of medical shops were kept open to meet the emergencies.
In Srikakulam, hoteliers arranged free lunch for visitors to the town as part of their agitation programme. The hoteliers demanded that the proposed 18-28 percent tax under GST be rolled back, and the old rate of 5 per cent continued. In Guntur, bakeries and sweet meat shops too downed their shutters.
The impact of the 'bandh' was felt more in temple town Tirupati, visited by thousands of pilgrims daily. Non-availability of accommodation in hotels caused problems for the pilgrims who came from far off places for a 'darshan' of Lord Venkateswara.
In Rajamahendravaram, hoteliers came on to the streets decrying the high rate of taxation saying the ultimate impact would fall on the customers. Hotels and restaurants would have to be wound up as the business would fall because of the new tax, they lamented.
The medium-sized hotels would be the worst hit, they said.
