Restaurant bandh in Mumbai on Monday - Daily News & Analysis

Members of the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association [AHAR] have decided to shut business on Monday to protest the newly imposed service tax on fully/partly air conditioned restaurants. Around 8,500 members of AHAR and over 27,000 restaurants in Mumbai and across Maharashtra are expected to participate in the bandh. "The Union Budget is framed to exploit the common man. If my restaurant is fully /partly air conditioned, I have to charge my customers an additional 12.63% service tax on 40% of their total bill and pay the central treasury. This move is unjustified as service tax will now be applicable for all customers including those having their snacks/ meals in the non air-conditioned area," said Arvind Shetty, president, AHAR. Last year, this tax was imposed only on restaurants serving alcohol. "We made written submissions to Chidambaram and Sonia Gandhi but did not get any relief. We also met with Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and VS Chauhan," said Shashikant Shetty, general secretary, AHAR. He added that the tax would force them to hike their prices which would lead to a loss of customers and better business for roadside vendors who do their business tax free. The AHAR met on April 4 and unanimously decided to call a strike denouncing the service tax on April 29. via Business - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEERZBaIS90Z7op-UR_n0duNT90Zw&url=http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/1827894/report-restaurant-bandh-in-mumbai-on-monday

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