Capt’s nod to 50% fee waiver for bars, marriage palaces

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 30

After concurring with the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM), Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today gave a nod to waive 50% of the annual licence fee of bars, marriage palaces, hotels and restaurants for the months of April to September. Besides, he also assented to waive the quarterly assessed fee for the first two quarters i.e. from April to June and July to September.

A spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s office said the financial implications of waiving 50 per cent of the annual licence fee of 1,065 bars in hotels and restaurants for the period from April 1 to September 30 would be to the tune of Rs 1,355.50 lakh, which was half the estimated revenue collection for 2020-2021. Likewise, the financial implications of waiver for 2,324 marriage palaces would be Rs 350 lakh, which would be half of the estimated revenue collection for 2020-2021.

Clears Finance panel arrears

Chandigarh: The state government will give a facelift to villages by utilising the grant of Rs1,539 crore, which has been released from the backlog of the 14th Finance Commission. The funds had been released after Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh took up the matter with the Union Government, said Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa.

With respect to the waiver of advance quarterly assessed fee on bars licences, there would be no financial implications, as the waiver would only be on assessed fee collected in advance, which is adjustable, and now the collection is being proposed to be deferred to the point of purchase by bars.

It may be recalled that the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Punjab, the Hotel Restaurant and Resort Association, the Punjab and the Marriage Palace Association, Punjab, in their representation to the GoM, had sought relaxation in the licence fee and the quarterly assessed fee in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent imposition of curfew and lockdown.

The matter was then discussed with Excise Commissioner Rajat Agarwal and Financial Commissioner (Taxation) A Venu Prasad, and subsequently referred to the Chief Minister for approval.