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Tourist fee collection still under scrutiny
It is still unclear which agency is going to supervise the collection of the recently imposed tourist fee, making the issue a hot topic at this year's Lao Business Forum.
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| Dr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong ( left ) and Vice President of LNCCI Mr Oudet Souvannavong. |
The Lao Business Forum, a meeting that brings together government agencies and private businesses, opened yesterday at the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Private sector participants wanted to know which body would be responsible for collecting the tourist fee. In 2006, it was agreed that a new fee of US$1 per tourist would be levied on all visitors to Laos. This money would then be given to the Lao National Tourism Authority (LNTA), which has since been incorporated into the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
According to a report provided at the meeting, following the issuance of Decree No. 103 declaring that passport and border pass holders should pay US$2 and US$1 respectively, the finance agency was assigned as the fee collector. However, due to the differing objectives of customs and tax authorities, it is still unclear which agency should be implementing the collection.
In 2010, the LNTA said the Ministry of Finance had been assigned to collect the US$1 and US$2 fees. The tax authority would collect the fees from outgoing tourists while tour companies were instructed to collect the money from incoming tourists before giving it to the LNTA.
Following this, the tax department along with the LNTA established a committee in charge of drafting a resolution on the collection, management and use of national tourism funds.
The LNTA recently reported that the issue had almost been resolved but they were still waiting for a receipt template as this needs to be approved with a code from the Ministry of Finance before it can be put into use countrywide.
However, according to the report, there has been no response from the government since the Lao Business Forum last year. Therefore, the topic was raised for discussion again this year at the Lao Business Forum Working Group Meeting between members of the inter-ministerial team and the private sector tourism working group.
In the meeting, it was recommended that the fee be collected at the border by government officials rather than by hotel owners.
The meeting was opened by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dr Bounthavy Sisouphanthong and attended by private sector businesses, ministries and Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry officials.
vientiane times
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