Bollywood actor Rahul Bose had posted a video on twitter last week complaining that the hotel had charged him Rs 442.50 for two bananas.
In his video, put up on twitter on July 22, Bose said, “You have to see this to believe it. Who said fruit wasn’t harmful to your existence? Ask the wonderful folks at JW Marriott.”
“So I am shooting in Chandigarh, and I am staying at this beautiful suite at the JW Marriot where they give you all the elegant freebies like these chocolate cookies and these… God knows how much these beautiful flowers cost.”
“But, get this, I was in the gym, and I asked for two bananas while I was working out. Of course, I got the bananas, check the bill out. They are just too good for me.”
The actor, who was in Chandigarh for a film shoot, showed the receipt which had listed the bananas as “fruit platter”.
The video was shared over 5,000 times, and the Excise and Taxation department ordered a probe.
A three-member team visited the hotel and seized the records, according to a report published by the Indian Express.
The hotel had charged Rs 33.75 each as CGST and UTGST, but according to the reports GST cannot be charged on Bananas.
“The hotel has been indicted for illegal collection of tax. They charged tax on bananas which fall under the category of fresh fruits that are tax-free. We have imposed a penalty on them,” UT Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Rajeev Chaudhary said.
Following the incident, Chandigarh administration has ordered an inspection of all hotels and restaurants in the city to check if they were charging items that fall under the 'tax-free' category.
SBS Hindi has contacted J W Mariot in writing but has not yet received a response. We shall update the story once we hear from the Hotel.
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