HRAWI Hosts GST Seminars In Mumbai & Bhopal

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) recently hosted two special seminars focused on Goods and Services Tax (GST) and its effects for the hospitality industry. Titled, ‘Bird’s Eye View – 5 Years of GST In Hotel & Restaurant Industry’, the seminars were held on 20th March and later in Bhopal on 23rd March 2023. The sessions were conducted by CA Jinit R Shah; Rishi Mehra – owner of The Mirador Hotel, Mumbai; Gurbir Bedi, Chairman of Seminar & Business Matters Liaison Sub-Committee, HRAWI.

In Bhopal, the seminar was inaugurated by Navneet Goel, Chief Commissioner of Customs and GST (Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh); Prabhat Dandotiya, Additional Commissioner Preventive, Bhopal Commissionerate; Tej Kulpal Singh, Bhopal Hoteliers Association; Sumit Suri, Executive Committee Member of HRAWI and the State Coordinator of Madhya Pradesh; and Paramjit Singh Ghai, Office Bearer and Honorary Treasurer of HRAWI.

The seminars deep dived into the several aspects of GST applicable to hotels and restaurants and addressed quite a few lesser-known facts about the new taxation regime. 87 hospitality professionals from both Mumbai and Bhopal participated in the seminar in their respective cities.

“The GST was introduced on July 1, 2017, as a comprehensive tax reform that aimed to simplify the indirect tax structure in the country. The hotel and restaurant industry was one of the sectors that were affected by the implementation of GST. The industry was previously subject to multiple taxes including service tax, VAT and luxury tax but the introduction of GST simplified taxes with a single tax. However, taxes inherently are a complicated subject especially, for the hospitality industry and so, we thought that after five years under the new tax regime it was a good time to reflect on how it has worked out so far. I thank CA Jinit Shah for imparting his knowledge on the subject from the industry’s perspective and for addressing participants’ queries,” says Pradeep Shetty, President, HRAWI.

“On behalf of our hotel, I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers from HRAWI for putting together an informative and engaging GST seminar for the hospitality industry. The speaker, Mr Jinit Shah was knowledgeable and provided valuable insights into the complex world of GST. As a hotelier, I found the seminar particularly helpful in clarifying the nuances of GST compliance and identifying areas where we can improve our processes. The case studies presented were relevant and insightful. Thank you again to HRAWI for a job well done,” concludes Rishi Mehra.