Prayagraj’s ₹106.68 cr GST collection from hotels, restaurants highest in U.P.

uraghuvanshi@hindustantimes.com

Prayagraj collected the highest Goods and Services Tax (GST) of ₹106.68 crore from hotels and restaurants though the inflow of visitors was the most in Varanasi among all the districts of the state in 2022-23.

A state government study of the Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) provides data about GST collections and the inflow of visitors at the places of religious and tourist importance. It indicates the growing trend of both the realisation of GST from hotels, restaurants and visiting tourists.

Uttar Pradesh saw arrival of 31.85 crore visitors in 2022-2023 while the state government collected ₹330.79 crore as GST from hotels and restaurants in different districts in the state the same year.

Prayagraj, which is set to witness a high inflow of visitors for the Mahakumbh-2025 opening on January 13, 2025, saw arrival of 2.60 crore visitors in 2022-2023. Varanasi, which saw arrival of 7.17 crore visitors, collected a sum of ₹11.45 lakh as GST from hotels and restaurants there.

Ayodhya, which saw the inauguration of Ram temple there on January 22, 2024, has seen a continuing growth of visitors there. It got 2.39 crore visitors and collected GST of ₹66.29 lakh from hotels and restaurants there in 2022-2023. Details about the status of GST collections post inauguration of Ram temple there are yet to be declared.

Agra, which witnessed the arrival of 1.03 crore tourists in 2022-2023 visitors during the period, realised GST revenue of ₹15.45 crore in the same period. Mathura attracted 6.53 crore visitors and collected ₹3.50 crore as GST from hotels and restaurants. About 58.51 lakh visitors came to Lucknow in 2022-2023. The state capital collected ₹29.25 crore GST from the hotels and restaurants. Chitrakoot received 37 lakh visitors and collected ₹18.22 lakh as GST from hotels and restaurants.