Panaji: Goa government on Friday said that they will be urging the centre to reduce Goods and Service Tax from current 28 per cent to mere 12 per cent during upcoming council meeting scheduled to be held in the coastal state on September 20.
Union Finance Minister Niramala Seetharaman will be chairing the GST council meeting in Goa on September 20.
State chief minister Pramod Sawant told reporters that during the meeting, Goa will urge the GST council to consider reducing the GST on tourism sector from 28 per cent to 12 per cent.
He said that the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), a union of the tourism stakeholders in the state, had represented to him requesting for the reduction to make Goa as a competitive destination compared to its competitors including Thailand.
“I will personally discuss this issue of reduction of GST with the union finance minister during the meeting,” the chief minister said.
State Panchayat minister Mauvin Godinho, who represents Goa on GST council, said that the demand of the tourism stakeholders is valid as the existing rate is very high. “It should be lowered to at least 18 per cent if not 12 per cent. That is up to the GST council but I feel that the reduction has to be there,” Godinho said.
