Submitting a charter of demand to the government on Wednesday, Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) also asked the government not to impose any new tax, considering the bad situation that the industry is going through at the moment.[break]
“We have also requested the government to lower VAT rate for the hotel sector or redeem three percent of the VAT paid by hoteliers taking into consideration the sector´s contribution in foreign exchange earning and employment generation,” Madhab Om Shrestha, executive director of HAN, said.
HAN has also demanded that the government waive off penalty and interest accrued on pending VAT dues of the hotels. The association has also proposed the government to do the needful in issuing loans at subsidized rates for hotels.
“As we are celebrating the year 2012 as Visit Lumbini Year, we have proposed to the government to issue gratis visa to foreigners for the next two years,” said Shrestha, adding that it will be a great promotional gimmick for Nepal in international arena.
The association has also urged the government to exempt income tax on foreign exchange earnings.
The hoteliers have also expressed serious concerns on lack of effective promotional campaigns in international arena and mismanagement at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). They have also requested the government to set up a travel desk in all Nepali missions abroad for tourism promotion.
HAN has asked the government to speed up the preparation second international airport and revise landing and parking fee for international airlines at TIA.
In a bid to encourage hotels to embrace green energy, hoteliers have asked the government to provide duty waiver on imports of green energy technology.
The association has also asked the government to ban monasteries in Lumbini from accommodating tourists.
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