Actor Rahul Bose recently made headlines for his tweet about being served two bananas for a whopping Rs. 442 by JW Marriott Hotel in Chandigarh. In no time, the internet went ‘bananas’ over the whole matter, with memes and laughter erupting from every nook and corner.
But the case became really serious, after the luxury hotel was slapped with a fine of Rs. 25,000 for charging such an extravagant amount of money by the Chandigarh Excise and Taxation Department.
However, the bill of Rs. 442 by JW Marriott has been backed by the hoteliers association, who are of the opinion that the amount is justified.
How does the hoteliers association validate this movie by JW Marriott? Read on and find out!
The Hoteliers’ Association Justifies JW Marriott’s Move
Popular actor Rahul Bose recently tweeted about how the JW Marriott of Chandigarh charged him Rs. 442.50 for two bananas, saying that they were too good for him.
Soon after which, the Chandigarh Excise and Taxation Department sent the hotel a show-cause notice, as bananas come under the category of fresh fruits, which are tax-free.
This was followed by the imposition of a fine of Rs. 25,000.
However, sticking up for one of their own is the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). The FHRAI Vice-President Gurbaxish Singh Kohli has remarked that the 18 percent GST that has been levied by the hotel was “a legal requirement incumbent upon the hotel.”
As per the Hotels Association, serving any fruit, including a pair of bananas, are a luxury, and the customers need to pay for the same.
Kohli said, “Unlike a retail store where bananas can be purchased at market price, a hotel offers service, quality, plate, cutlery, accompaniment, sanitized fruit, ambience and luxury, and not the commodity alone. A coffee available at ?10 at a roadside stall could be served at ?250 in a luxury hotel.”
Despite being slapped a fine of Rs 25,000, the association has said that 18% GST is justified.
Banana GST Triggers Memes, New Services
Meanwhile, this case has triggered several interesting memes and a host of new services by rival hotels, to catch on the trend and the wave.
For instance, Taj Hotel in Mumbai announced complimentary servings of fruits for all guests, and this caught this attention of social media users.
Besides this, other brands went bananas over creating new and exciting memes, which highlighted the issue, and basically used this incident to promote their own services.
Here are few examples:
Do you think that Rahul Bose was correct in highlighting this issue? Do let us know by commenting right here!