PANAJI: Offshore and onshore casino operators have gone into a crisis management mode a day after news started making rounds that the state government is going to implement a steep increase in their annual recurring fees.
The Goan Everyday had reported in its March 28 edition how the state government was going to increase annual recurring fees of offshore casino with more than 400 passenger capacity from Rs 12 crore to a massive Rs 40 crore from April 1. Besides, plans are afoot to have huge increase in the same fees for onshore casinos as well.
Casino industry was in the grip of such panic that few stakeholders even said that some of the casinos may have to shut down, if the government doesn’t reduce the fees.
Sources further informed that few casinos approached people within the government, who, in turn, even spoke to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on the issue requesting him to reverse the hike in fees.
Sources confirmed that this will be a rare occasion when the state government will be hiking fees for casinos by such a huge margin. This is the reason that managements of casinos are left with no option but to approach the government asking for some sort of a relief.
Shrinivas Nayak, director of Pride Group of Casinos and Hotels, said, “We are in the process of making a representation to the state government. Beyond that, it is too early to comment.”
For certain categories, the hike in fees is extremely high. For example, the state government is likely to increase the annual recurring fees for an onshore casino with more than 100 square meters upto 300 square meters area from Rs 5 crore to Rs 20 crore, which is a 300% jump. Such a drastic hike is the reason that casinos are desperately trying to seek relief.
Another source on the condition of anonymity said, “The tax burden on casinos is huge. Now, casinos are coming under 28% Goods-and-Services-Tax (GST) bracket. In the previous tax regime, we had to pay 14% entertainment tax. Over and above GST, we pay 20% dividend tax, 30% tax on dividend and several fees to departments like Goa State Pollution Control Board and etc.”
It is estimated that 10,000 people are directly employed in casinos in Goa, besides another 25,000 are indirectly employed. In an event of casino shutdown, their livelihoods will be at stake.
