650 bars, restaurants remained closed all day over hiked tax

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The hotels, bars and restaurants with FL-3 licence remained closed all day on Monday to protest against the increase in liquor sales tax, excise duty and VAT.

The District Hotels and Restaurant Owners Association called for a one-day bandh, stating that it had become difficult to do business due to the increase in VAT from 5 per cent to 10 per cent. About 650 bars and restaurants with an FL-3 license in the district participated in this bandh. This bandh did not include country-made liquor sellers, only official licensees participated in the strike.

This resulted in a loss of revenue worth crores in the district during the day. On this, president of the Association Shivaji Patil said that the bandh was observed to draw the attention of the State Government to their problems.

The shutdown caused damage to both the Government's revenue and the financial condition of the bar and hotel owners, yet the decision to go on strike was taken as businesses were on the verge of closure due to increased taxes.

“If the State Government does not abolish VAT or reduce the VAT hike, all FL-3 license holders will return their licenses to the Government in the coming days. There is a risk of illegal business increasing in the coming days due to VAT and other taxes,” he said.