BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ABOUT 12 stand-alone restaurants are expected to be the beneficiaries of duty free concessions for full service following a decision made by Cabinet on Monday, April 27.
According to a post-Cabinet briefing issued yesterday (Apr. 28), the decision came from a proposal from the Hotel and Tourism Association (HTA) seeking concessions for restaurants that are not attached to a hotel after the association had lobbied for a similar concession for small hotels in December of last year.
The new policy adopted by the Cabinet will allow qualifying restaurants duty free importation of food, wine, kitchenware and appliances and furniture, and is primarily designed to allow such restaurants to stay afloat in the face of challenging economic times.
In its approval of the proposal, Cabinet put forward a number of criteria for restaurants to be able to access these concessions. Restaurants in question must have a valid business license and must be up to date with nine percent restaurant tax and social security. The company must have at least 75 percent local work force and all employees must have a food handler’s permit.
Restaurants must offer full service of food, drinks and wine; accept credit cards; be a member of the HTA; be willing to accept training attachments of students from Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC); and help to market St. Kitts and Nevis as a tourist destination.
The criteria however indicated that the restaurant must be housed in a proper building with bathroom facilities, therefore excluding beach bars from accessing the concessions.
Speaking to SKNVibes, HTA General Manager Michael Head explained that discussions for the concessions began some two months ago, noting it was necessary to give assistance to restaurants to ensure that they remain competitive and profitable.
“After small hotels with 10-100 rooms were offered duty free concession, it was felt that some of the restaurants were left out. The whole idea was to give similar assistance to these restaurants to allow them to refurbish and return their facilities to a high standard and create more interesting menus,” he said.
Head further stated that the association made the proposal to protect the interests of the “genuine and bona-fide restaurants” to allow them to maintain a high service standard.
Within the last year, a significant number of concessional arrangements were offered to various businesses as the government continues to encourage business for these smaller companies. Interested persons are asked to contact the Ministry of Tourism for further details.
