Standing by its commitment to fight for the cause of the industry, the office bearers of OTOAI (Outbound Tour Operators Association of India) met Kamlesh Varshney, Joint Secretary TPL, Ministry of Finance on Monday (March 16). The delegation explained the situation – both at present and one that will arise after-tax collected at source (TCS) implementation, in detail.
Indian travel agents and trade associations have expressed their disappointment on the government’s budget proposal to collect five percent TCS from outbound travellers that is expected to be implemented from April 1, 2020.
“We have requested to the Ministry of Finance that TCS should not be implemented and most-certainly be deferred in the present situation. After listening to all our reasoning, we have been assured that our request will be positively looked into. We are hopeful that the Ministry will understand the plight of the travel agents and take a positive decision with regards to TCS,” elaborated Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI.
Apart from Munshi, the OTOAI delegation comprised of Shravan Bhalla, General Secretary, OTOAI; Guldeep Singh Sahni, Former President, OTOAI and Rajeev Sabharwal, Former Treasurer, OTOAI.
Although TCS is not an additional tax as the amount paid will be adjusted later with a total tax liability of an individual, the move is likely to affect the cash flow of travellers besides leading travellers to book holidays with international travel agents to save on additional cost.