Demonetisation along with recently introduced Goods and Service Tax (GST) may impact the business of upcoming wedding season, which is starting from November, by 10-15 per cent, said industry chamber, ASSOCHAM on Monday.
Wedding services like marriage hall booking, tent booking, confectionery services and photography are expected to get impacted. Presently, the Indian wedding industry is about Rs 1 trillion and is growing at 25 to 30 per cent annually. The estimated cost of a wedding with no expenses spared could be between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 8 crore.
“It is being estimated that the average cost of many wedding services like shopping, tent booking, food services, etc., is higher due to GST. The GST rate on most of these services is from 18 to 28 per cent. Before GST, most of the wedding service businesses like tent services, confectionery booking, etc., were using unregistered bills on which they didn’t have to pay any tax,” the chamber said.
However, Assocham also noted that destination wedding or the wedding tourism sector in India, which accounts for less than 10 per cent share in the overall industry, is not likely to face the much adverse impact of GST and demonetization. This is because it is already a very costly affair which mainly lures foreigners, NRIs, rich and famous people for exotic weddings at beaches, royal palaces and adventurous places.
(Input: IANS)
