A hurdle for MP tourism

How government officers in MP make things difficult for policymakers and business was evident yesterday from a decision taken by the newly-appointed Shivraj Singh Chauhan government.

The government has offered ambiguous tax exemption to tourist buses operating on routes of tourism interest only.

According to the decision, tax will be waived if a vehicle operates between two stations that fall on a tourist circuit which has a railway station or airport so that it can connect with tourist routes of neighbouring states. A tour operator will have to deposit Rs 1 lakh as security, and if he uses his vehicle for any other purpose, he stands to lose the deposit.

"Rather than accepting such conditions, we prefer to pay taxes prevalent earlier," a leading tour operator in Bhopal told Business Standard.

At present, tourist operators pay a tax of 10.2 per cent on tour expenses. Chambers like the Confederation of Indian Industry have for long been asking for a reduction in the rate. This is the first decision taken by Shivraj Singh's government. He has announced that tourism will be a priority matter.

The tax exemption will be available only if the tourist vehicle sports the line "Madhya Pradesh Tourism" in red with a blue background on its right, left and back sides. Further, vehicles will have to emblazon "Madhya Pradesh Paryatan Vahan" in red on the left side of the windscreen.

"Approved tour operators of the MP State Tourism Development Corporation will be the beneficiaries of this exemption," said a government spokesperson.