Chandigarh’s JW Marriott Hotel may have to cough up a penalty of Rs 25,000 for charging an exorbitant amount for two bananas served to Bollywood actor Rahul Bose during his stay at the luxury hotel.
The actor was charged Rs 442.50 for two bananas at the hotel which is located in Sector 35 here.
A team headed by RK Chaudhary, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Chandigarh, has already begun probe into the levying of tax on fresh fruits and other items at JW Marriott and the hotel authorities have been asked to submit a reply by Saturday.
A senior officer of UT Excise and Taxation Department said under the GST regime, fresh fruits are tax-free items and this is a clear violation by the hotel authorities. While the hotel is expected to submit its reply by Saturday, under the Section 125 of CGST Act 2017, any person who contravenes the provisions of this Act is liable to a penalty which may extend to Rs 25,000.
“A day before, the team of UT Excise and Taxation Department had also seized documents related to the sale in the hotel to check whether they have been depositing regularly the relevant tax to the department or not. We are checking the violations from all angles and will act against the hotel authorities accordingly,” the officer said.
Bose had posted a video on Twitter expressing shock over being charged Rs 442.50 for two bananas at the hotel in which he is seen explaining how he was charged Rs 442 (including GST) for two bananas.
“You have to see this to believe it. Who said fruit wasn’t harmful to your existence? Ask the wonderful folks at JW Marriott Chandigarh,” the actor, captioned the video, adding “bananas are just too good for me.