Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) recently held a special meeting at The Ashok Hotel in New Delhi in order to welcome the new secretary of ministry of tourism, Rashmi Verma and bid farewell to Vinod Zutshi, former secretary. Welcoming her, Pronab Sarkar, president IATO, mentioned, “We welcome Rashmi Verma to the ministry and assure her IATO’s support in all future efforts. We know that her previous experience with the tourism ministry as the assistant director general will prove as an added advantage for the sector. We also thank Zutshi for his extensive support during his tenure.” He further brought up the issues faced by the tour operators and travel agents.
The members claimed that majority of international tourism offices lacked senior officials and did not respond well within time. Verma reverted, “The government plans to fill these positions at the earliest so the international tourism offices can function to their optimum level. In order to promote India, the ministry will also open new offices in the relevant markets and rework on marketing strategies.”
Addressing the grievances of the tour operators and travel agents regarding Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) monuments, guide policies and GST, she mentioned, “The issue of revision of guidelines by ASI has already been taken up with the Ministry of Culture and soon we shall have a solution on it. As far as GST is concerned, we have set up a GST cell under the economic advisor so that the genuine concerns of tourism industry can be easily solved. We will assist everyone through smooth transitioning to the GST regime.” The new secretary offered everyone to submit their problems, queries and suggestions to the council so the same can be taken up by the revenue department.
Zutshi thanked the association for their support, he said, “There can be no better successor to me than Verma and I am sure she will make major achievements in the sector.”
Some top government officials from the Central Board of Excise & Customs were also present to address the issues of tourism industry regarding GST(Good and Service Tax). Pramod Kumar, additional secretary, gave a small presentation on the impact of GST emphasising on the fact that GST will depend on location of the supplier, location of recipient and location of service. Later GD Lohani, commissioner, answered the members who had doubts regarding interstate tax filings and registration.