Come April 1, casinos in Goa will have to shell out more as the state government hiked various licensing fees. Annual license fees for both onshore and offshore casinos has been hiked by up to 4.5 times, stated the BJP-led government.
While the application fees and security deposit for casino licence has been increased from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, the annual licence renewal fees has been hiked from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 1 crore. The security deposit is non-refundable and is to be paid at the time of grant of new licence.
Annual recurring fees for onshore casinos in various categories of areas have been more than doubled, the highest rise being Rs 40 crore from the previous Rs 8.5 crore for those with an area of more than 1,000 sq mts. For offshore casinos, the annual recurring fees have gone up, with 400-passenger capacity vessels seeing an increase from Rs 12 crore to Rs 40 crore.
Transfer of licence fee for onshore casinos has been hiked from Rs 10 crore to Rs 30 crore. For offshore casinos, it has been increased from Rs 20 crore to Rs 50 crore.
The exuberant hike in taxes will come as a huge blow to casino owners in a state that thrive on tourism.