The civil aviation and tourism ministry has issued guidelines on identification of the international standard luxury hotels for providing tax rebate in import of capital machinery and other equipments to encourage setting up new international chain and luxury hotels in the country.
According to the Identification and Certification of Standard Hotels Guidelines published on April 27, only three-star and above graded under-construction hotels will get duty waiver on import.
Both local and franchise-based international chain hotels having at least 100 rooms will get the duty benefit provided by the National Board of Revenue, under which the entrepreneurs will be allowed to import machinery and other equipments by paying only 5 per cent duty, it said.
It said that the space of each room would have to contain at least 26 square metres with air-conditioning and heating system, and hot and cool water facility.
Sewerage treatment plant and modern fire protection system are mandatory for availing the duty benefit.
Two-hundred seated air conditioned conference centre, 50-seated meeting room, 150-seated banquet hall and 50-seated restaurant arrangement along with gymnasium, spa and other facilities in the hotels are also mandatory.
Officials said that such duty waiver on newly-built luxury hotels would boost the local tourism industry along with generating employment.
They said that the ministry also formed a six-member committee headed by controller of the hotel and restaurant cell of the ministry to scrutinise the standard of the hotels and recommend the government for providing the benefit.
The other members include president or secretary of International Hotel Association Ltd, representatives from Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Bangladesh Services Limited, concerned district administration and assistant controller of the hotel and restaurant cell of the ministry.
The revenue board on April last year through issuing a statutory regulatory order reduced the import duty to 5 per cent from the highest 153.38 per cent on those equipments including interior decoration materials, kitchen and cooking equipments, building security equipments, fire fighting and protection equipments, electric substation equipments, furniture, lightings and equipments for health club.
In the SRO, the NBR said that the hotels should be either franchise of international chain hotel or certified as standard by the civil aviation ministry for getting the privilege.
The ministry framed the guidelines and formed the committee in line with the NBR SRO.
They said that the benefit would attract more investments in setting up global standard hotels at popular destinations, which will help attract more foreign tourists.
According to the guidelines, the under-construction upper-graded hotels will have to fulfil some conditions for getting the duty waiver.
The conditions include registration from the district administration, completion of 60 per cent physical structure and, the infrastructure and other facilities will have to be equivalent to three-star or above graded hotels.
A hotel will enjoy the import facility once at reduced duty rates and have to use the imported machinery and equipments at the hotel for which the application is made.
The hotel authorities will have to submit the detailed description of facilities, lay-out plan and structural plan, tax related documents, projection about possible foreign currency and revenue earnings and job creation for availing the waiver, according to the guidelines.
The ministry will certify the hotels as standard or not based on the committee reports which it will give after visiting the location and infrastructure of the proposed hotel, conducting feasibility study and scrutinising the indicators fixed in the guidelines for standard hotel.
According to the Identification and Certification of Standard Hotels Guidelines published on April 27, only three-star and above graded under-construction hotels will get duty waiver on import.
Both local and franchise-based international chain hotels having at least 100 rooms will get the duty benefit provided by the National Board of Revenue, under which the entrepreneurs will be allowed to import machinery and other equipments by paying only 5 per cent duty, it said.
It said that the space of each room would have to contain at least 26 square metres with air-conditioning and heating system, and hot and cool water facility.
Sewerage treatment plant and modern fire protection system are mandatory for availing the duty benefit.
Two-hundred seated air conditioned conference centre, 50-seated meeting room, 150-seated banquet hall and 50-seated restaurant arrangement along with gymnasium, spa and other facilities in the hotels are also mandatory.
Officials said that such duty waiver on newly-built luxury hotels would boost the local tourism industry along with generating employment.
They said that the ministry also formed a six-member committee headed by controller of the hotel and restaurant cell of the ministry to scrutinise the standard of the hotels and recommend the government for providing the benefit.
The other members include president or secretary of International Hotel Association Ltd, representatives from Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Bangladesh Services Limited, concerned district administration and assistant controller of the hotel and restaurant cell of the ministry.
The revenue board on April last year through issuing a statutory regulatory order reduced the import duty to 5 per cent from the highest 153.38 per cent on those equipments including interior decoration materials, kitchen and cooking equipments, building security equipments, fire fighting and protection equipments, electric substation equipments, furniture, lightings and equipments for health club.
In the SRO, the NBR said that the hotels should be either franchise of international chain hotel or certified as standard by the civil aviation ministry for getting the privilege.
The ministry framed the guidelines and formed the committee in line with the NBR SRO.
They said that the benefit would attract more investments in setting up global standard hotels at popular destinations, which will help attract more foreign tourists.
According to the guidelines, the under-construction upper-graded hotels will have to fulfil some conditions for getting the duty waiver.
The conditions include registration from the district administration, completion of 60 per cent physical structure and, the infrastructure and other facilities will have to be equivalent to three-star or above graded hotels.
A hotel will enjoy the import facility once at reduced duty rates and have to use the imported machinery and equipments at the hotel for which the application is made.
The hotel authorities will have to submit the detailed description of facilities, lay-out plan and structural plan, tax related documents, projection about possible foreign currency and revenue earnings and job creation for availing the waiver, according to the guidelines.
The ministry will certify the hotels as standard or not based on the committee reports which it will give after visiting the location and infrastructure of the proposed hotel, conducting feasibility study and scrutinising the indicators fixed in the guidelines for standard hotel.
Source: New Age
