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New tax rate will harm Goa casino, tourist industries: Minister
Goa had opposed the hike in GST for casino gambling, online gaming and horse racing to 28% and had sought that the tax be collected based on gross gambling revenue (GGR)
Goa Minister for Transport Mauvin Godinho, also the state presentative on the GST council has said the recent decision of the council to hike tax rates on casino gambling would harm fresh investment in the sector, calling it “a negative factor for the industry.”
Godinho said the state will write to the council to reconsider the move.
Goa had opposed the hike in GST for casino gambling, online gaming and horse racing to 28% and had sought that the tax be collected based on gross gambling revenue (GGR) and not the full-face value of the purchase transactions.
Godinho said that the industry is not opposed to the hike of 28% but “everybody in the industry -- be it casinos, online gaming or horse racing, they wanted the entire calculation to be done on GGR for the purposes of taxation.”
“But they (the coouncil) have decided on the full-face value,” he added.
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“I think this is going to be a very negative factor for the industry. It will hamper fresh investment. It will hamper the existing industry. Even for Goa, the (tourist) footfalls are bound to decrease. Today in Goa, most flights are full because people are coming to play (in the) casinos. And casinos are something specific only to Goa and Sikkim,” Godinho said.
Godinho said that a consensus was “almost reached“ between the states, but opposition from Uttar Pradesh scuttled the move.
“All of a sudden... the honourable minister from Uttar Pradesh opposed it and that’s how it was decided on the full-face value and on 28%. With TDS also coming to the fore, I think this is not going to be a very positive (development) thing for the industry,” he added.
“I’ve spoken to the Chief Minister (Pramod Sawant) and he said he will take it up. So ultimately it will go to the GST council for reconsideration -- it has to go,” Godinho said.
He said: “If there is a representation from our government -- which is going to be there -- I told the CM to
write to the finance minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) as well as others and I think other representatives from other industries are bound to come,” he added.
Meanwhile, casino operators in Goa have said that they are awaiting clarifications from the government on whether the fee would be charged based on GGR or face value.
“Casinos were always charged 28% GST ever since the beginning of the GST regime in 2017. Earlier the calculation was based on the gross gaming revenue. The recent amendment is based on how the tax is calculated. We are seeking clarity on that aspect,” Shrinivas Nayak, the proprietor of the Casino Pride Group, one of the largest casino chains in Goa, said.
Nayak said that since the tax rate hasn’t changed, he didn’t expect casino patrons to be dissuaded by the new regime.
The annual value of Gao’s casino industry is around 1,000 crore annually.
The 23-year-old industry isn’t just a big draw for thousands for tourists but contributes around ₹300-crore to the state coffers in licence fees and around ₹90 crore per year as State GST.
From one offshore vessel which began operations in the year 1999, the state today has six gaming vessels which are all moored within a one-kilometre stretch of the River Mandovi.
Industry insiders reveal that each venue makes a turnover of around ₹120-crore per year and sees 600-800 persons per vessel, especially on weekends. Besides floating casinos, starred hotels are also allowed to host casino floors with slot machines and other non-live gaming.
