Amusement Park Industry bleeds with 28% GST rate

One year back, in many states, where the tax rate was 0%, then service tax added to 15% and now with GST it is 28% which is a huge burden on the industry.

The recently announced Goods and Services (GST) tax by the Government of India, has put the very existence of India’s amusement – theme park industry at peril with the imposition of a mammoth tax rate of 28%. This new taxation regime puts this industry catering to outdoor entertainment for children, youth and families at par with the casinos, betting and race courses.

Mr. Shirish Deshpande, President, Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) & CEO, Pan India Paryatan Pvt. Ltd., (PIPPL) said, “This is a huge setback for our industry which in essence puts our very survival at risk. Such high taxation is out rightly unsustainable for our industry which as it is operates on a paper-thin margin. Amusement park is not and was never a luxury. 

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It is a social infrastructure giving outdoor entertainment to children and youth of tomorrow’s India, who are otherwise glued to gadgets and digital world. Amusement Parks helps foster bonding with family and friends, relieves stress and provides rush of adrenaline and more. It has a direct correlation with the development of tourism in any state and plays a major role in creating employment both directly and through ancillary and other related industries. In view of this, as a representative of the industry, we would like to urge the government to consider our standpoint and treat the industry in line with hospitality and restaurants which fall in the GST slab of 12%-18%, on top of it this industry does not consume major raw materials and input credit is not more than 2-3% therefore it makes amusement industry unviable to sustain such high GST rate.”

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