For tourists at homestays, liquor not to be taxed

Bangalore, July 04: Good news for tourists! Tourism department's new guidelines for homestays say liquor served to guests is considered part of personal consumption. So, liquor permits and restrictions are not applicable to them.

There is no specified limit on the amount of liquor that may be stored in the homestay. Besides, any inspection of the homestay by any government department has to be authorised by the district magistrate, who is the deputy commissioner.

The guidelines aim to further promote the already popular homestay concept. "The homestay is environmentally safe, provides accommodation for a huge number of tourists without destroying the picturesque skyline of places like Kodagu and Chikmagalur. So, we have incentivised the sector," tourism secretary I M Vittala Murthy said.

The homestay as a concept has been in vogue for five years, but now Karnataka has more than 800 such houses. Result: Commercial taxes department wanted to collect luxury tax from them, excise department wanted to levy liquor licence charges, revenue department wanted conversion charges from residential to commercial and police wanted to oversee the security.

But the tourism department has had its way. As per the guidelines, all those who are registered with the government get incentives, over and above the no licence fee on liquor - No maintenance of records for tax purposes; homestays are considered non-commercial activity; and houseowners, amid plantations and farms in the Western Ghats, will not have to alienate their land from present usage.

"We will put up the names and addresses of the homestays on our website. Our aim is 1,500 homestays within the state, which will work out to 7,500 rooms extra for tourists, without having to put up a single hotel," Murthy said.

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