The matter of loans under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was raised requesting to amend the guidelines issue by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) as banks are not entertaining applications of tour operators for availing the ECLGS scheme benefit. It was given that the understanding was that revised guidelines are going to be issued to the banks.

Last and the most important, the point that was taken up with the Hon. Finance Minister was a long-pending demand of the tourism industry to treat the tourism industry as a deemed exporter at par with the Information Technology (IT) industry under export of services based on their foreign exchange earnings by relaxing the parameters and definition of Export of Service and by changing the criteria of place of supply.

The meeting with the Hon. Finance Minister was very encouraging and useful. Not only did she give patient hearing to the issues raised by Mr. Mehra and Mr. Sarkar, but she also assured she would look into the suggestions and recommendations made by IATO based on its merit, which could benefit the tourism industry as a whole.

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