PM Modi dismisses report of restriction on foreign travels via tax
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday strongly rejected reports claiming that the Center is considering imposing a cess, tax or surcharge on foreign travel to offset the fiscal impact of ongoing conflict-related economic pressures.Reacting to the report in a post by X, PM Modi said, “This is completely false. There is no truth in it. There is no question of imposing such a ban on foreign travel. We are committed to improving the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and ‘Ease of Living’ for our people.”Prime Minister Modi’s response came after a media report quoting government sources claimed that discussions on a possible temporary cess or surcharge on foreign travel were underway at the “highest level”.According to the report, the proposed tariff is being considered to mitigate the fiscal impact arising from the ongoing war situation and rising crude oil and import costs.The report also demanded that any cess, tax or surcharge on foreign travel would flow directly to the Center instead of a divisible tax pool and could remain in place for a year as a temporary measure.The report also said that the finance ministry did not respond to queries regarding the proposal.However, Prime Minister Modi denied these claims and insisted that the government is focused on easing business and travel-related processes for citizens rather than imposing new restrictions.
