Number of permissions required reduced from 70 to 10. Applications now allowed online.
The hospitality industry, ravaged by the Covid-19 lockdown, has received a fillip with the government reducing the permissions required to start a new hotel or a restaurant from 70 to just 10.
And that is not all, applications for all these licences/permits can be submitted online, taking out of an entrepreneur’s way the nightmare of visiting government offices.
The new policy, according to both government officials and industry insiders, will encourage investment in the sector. And new investment is something the industry badly needs.
According to the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR), only 14,000 of Mumbai’s 22,000 restaurants have managed to reopen after the lockdown. This has pushed a large number of the 60 lakh-plus people the industry employed directly and indirectly into unemployment.
A plethora of permissions and licences required to open a restaurant was what scared a lot of entrepreneurs off the F&B business. Among the licences that have been dropped are — licence for a chimney under the Smoke Nuisance Act, licence for running a mixer and grinder (if using 3 phase power), and permission from the police for a bar.
“It was very difficult for youngsters to enter the hospitality industry. It required a huge amount of paperwork and visits to government departments. It was time consuming and frustrating. This decluttering of the process of starting a restaurant/hotel is a welcome move,” said Ronnie D’Souza, owner Uncle’s Kitchen in Malad.
A new restaurant/hotel will now have to make only nine applications seeking ten NOCs/Permissions/Licences from seven different departments. The ten permissions are related to BMC, labour department, excise, sales tax and the .
Pradeep Shetty, senior vice-president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association (western India), said the policy direction from the state, moving from licence raj to self- certification is a tremendous boost to the hotel and restaurant industry.
AHAR president Shivanand Shetty welcomed the decision, but said he expected the government to focus attention on a few more issues. “In spite of a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence, a health licence from BMC is being insisted upon. A signboard licence should also not be mandatory as it is only to direct a customer to the restaurant/hotel. It is not for advertising purposes,” Shetty said.
Principal Secretary, Department of Tourism, Valsa Nair Singh said that the emphasis of the new policy is on simplification of the process. “We want more investment in the hospitality sector. We studied the best practices around the world. Now, somebody who wants to set up a hotel or start a restaurant does not need to visit any government department,” she said.
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