Hotels remain closed in Pondy to protest hike in VAT

Puducherry,Apr17 (PTI) Hotels, bakeries, stalls selling sweets and savouries remained closed in Puducherry today protesting the hike in value added tax the territorial administration introduced from January this year. A spokesman of the Hotel Owners Association said government had raised the VAT on cooked food from two to ten percent which has hit business hard.All roadside eateries also remained closed. "VAT is a major source of revenue for the administration to mobilize funds locally. But the hike in the VAT on hotel products to ten percent is unfair, unbearable and injurious," the shop owners said.