Eating out still pricey despite cut in GST rates: Tamilisai Soundararajan

Chennai: Eating out continues to be pricey despite the Centre slashing the GST rates, claimed BJP state president Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan.

Contending that not all hotels and restaurants were implementing the revised GST rates, the senior leader who visited a hotel in T. Nagar in the city on Monday to ascertain if the new rates were being implemented, said only few hotels implemented the revised rates.

She said it was “condemnable” that hotels had increased the prices despite reduction in GST rates. “As per the request by people, the GST rates were reduced for food items. This (BJP) government will function as per the wishes of the people,” she tweeted.

The party’s youth wing commenced a state-wide exercise to inspect whether hotels have revised prices after the GST council brought all hotels in the five per cent bracket without Input Tax Credit. The GST Council recently reduced the tax rate on 178 items from 28 per cent to 18 per cent and also brought all AC and non-AC restaurants in the five per cent GST bracket without the Input Tax Credit (ITC).

Launching the state-wide campaign here on Monday, Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan visited a hotel in T. Nagar to study the ground reality. She also visited few shops in the locality. She tweeted about her inspection on the micro blogging site and shared pictures of her having food with party cadres.

Tamil Nadu BJP Yuva Morcha president Vinoj P. Selvam said, “today BJYM members inspected restaurants in Chennai to check whether this reduction in tax is being implemented.”