Dining to get cheaper at food joints without tourism tax in Oman

Muscat: Eating your favourite pizzas or sandwiches will be cheaper beginning Thursday, as customers will no longer have to pay tourism taxes at sit-down and fast food restaurants and international coffee shops that do not fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), a senior official at the Ministry said on Wednesday.
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Any restaurant or eaterie which is not contained within a hotel in Oman is now barred from charging the tax, according to the ministry.
Abdullah Al Hajri, Deputy General Director of administration affairs at the Ministry of Tourism, said customers previously paid a 4 per cent tourism tax for purchases at non-tourism restaurants and eateries.
“But they can’t charge this starting Thursday. For this, we are coordinating with the Public Authority for Consumer Protection (PACP) to monitor the market,” he said.
Any restaurants and fast food locations violating the law could face fines and legal actions, he warned. When contacted, owners of fast food and sit-down restaurants said they would comply with the government orders.
“Though we haven’t received a notice from the ministry, we will abide by the government’s rules,” an operation manager of an international fast food restaurant said in Oman. Consumers, however, voiced their approval. “This is a great relief for us, as we used to pay a lot of money for tourism taxes at fast food restaurants,” said Hussein Al Rahbi, a national based in Muscat.
Similarly, Mohammed Al Balushi, a citizen who lives with his wife in Muscat, also welcomed the news. “My wife and I work and find little time to cook breakfast and lunch. We depend on restaurants for at least one meal a day. I feel this is a good move, as most of the restaurants have nothing to do with tourism and, in the end, we the consumers have to pay the tax in the bills,” Al Balushi said.
Establishing a restaurant used to be difficult for businessmen, as they had to seek approvals from different government bodies, including MoT.
But now, the ministry has made it clear that only tourism restaurants need to receive such permissions. In another development, the MoT clarified that hotel visitors will have to pay a tourism tax of 12 per cent beginning September 1. “While 4 per cent will go to Ministry of Tourism, the remaining 8 per cent will be charged for hotel services,” according to the Ministry.
The updated regulations aim at improving procedures and putting in place guidance for the tourism sector. “The new amendment is also considered the first step towards developing the policies needed to improve the Omani tourism sector, side by side with the Omani Tourism Strategy Programme 2040,” said a spokesperson from MoT.