The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI)
is seeking the ‘One India One Tourism’ approach in Budget 2022, which is
inclusive of the ‘One Tax’ structure to revive pandemic-hit domestic
travel.

The industry body has demanded the inclusion
of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in the GST to make air travel “more viable” for
all. It also sought extension of the emergency credit line guarantee scheme
(ECLGS).

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TAAI in an official statement said several
aspects can be expected in the upcoming Budget to support the travel and
hospitality sectors, which will help it to revive.

“For this, it is extremely important for both
the central and state governments to work in tandem to facilitate this sector
and support it to be included in the concurrent list to get industry status to
make it more structured,” the association said.

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TAAI, which is headed by Jyoti Mayal, said the
government should look to increase the disposable income of the middle classes
to encourage discretionary spending.

Solid measures should be
taken such as easy credit availability, reducing the income tax rate and GST
rate, abolishment of tax collected at source (TCS), and wage support with ease
of business. These measures will help to improve cash flows and reduce the
working capital burden on start-ups, MSMEs and SMEs.

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Apart from strengthening MSMEs, TAAI is
expecting steps such as creating a fund of funds scheme for technology adoption
for use in industry 4.0 and reviving of the credit-linked capital subsidy
scheme (CLCSS) for technology up-gradation, in the forthcoming union budget.

TAAI added that important points to be
considered are e-visa fees waiver for all tourist visas for 2022-2023, to
support inbound revival export status for tourism export earnings.

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The association has also sought doubling the
expenditure allocation for the tourism ministry to enable intensive global
reach-out to support the inbound revival. It also demanded domestic income tax
travel credit for Indian citizens and Indian companies to support domestic
retail and domestic MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions)
pick-up.