Chamber Seeks Review of City Tourist Tax, Warns of Impact on Hotel Industry

The Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) has urged the state government to reconsider the recently enforced City Tourist Tax on the hotel industry. In this regard, the Chamber has written to Jharkhand Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore seeking a review of the proposed levy.

According to a press release issued by the Chamber, the Jharkhand Cabinet has approved the Jharkhand City Tourist Tax Rules, 2025, under which a new tax is proposed on tourists staying in hotels across the state. Under the proposal, domestic tourists may be required to pay an additional levy of up to 2.5 per cent on the total bill based on GST slabs, while foreign tourists could face a higher burden of up to around 4.1 per cent.

A meeting of hotel operators was also held at the Chamber Bhavan on Friday, where stakeholders urged the Chamber to intervene in the matter.

FJCCI President Aditya Malhotra said the hotel industry was already subject to GST ranging from 5 to 18 per cent. He stated that the GST regime was introduced under the principle of “One Nation, One Tax,” which clearly envisaged that no additional state-level tax should be imposed on services and products already covered under GST.

He said the proposed tourist tax was contrary to the basic principles of GST and would impose an additional financial burden on both businesses and consumers.

FJCCI Joint Secretary Navjot Alang said the additional levy could adversely impact the tourism industry in the state. He urged the government to withdraw the proposed tax in order to encourage trade and tourism in line with the state’s development objectives and ensure compliance with the spirit of the GST framework.

The meeting was attended by FJCCI President Aditya Malhotra, Vice Presidents Praveen Lohiya and Ram Bangar, General Secretary Rohit Agrawal, Joint Secretaries Navjot Alang and Rohit Poddar, Treasurer Anil Agrawal, along with several hotel operators.