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Fiji Legislation |
LAWS OF FIJI
Revised Edition
1985]
CHAPTER 215
HOTELS AID
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
SECTION
1.
Short title
2.
Interpretation
3. Application to be
made to Minister
4. Provisional
approval
5. Grant of
subsidy
6. Hotel owner may apply for
investment
7. Special depreciation
allowance
8. Investment
allowance
9. Procedure on sale of
hotel
10. Procedure in case of
loss
11. Procedure when amount not
written off at end of 15 years allowance as alternative
-----------------------------------------
Ordinance
No. 35 of
1964, Legal Notice
No. 112 of
1970,
Acts Nos. 35
of 1975, 17 of 1981
AN ACT
TO PROVIDE FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF HOTELS IN FIJI BY THE PROVISION OF FINANCIAL
INDUCEMENTS
[23 December 1964]
Short title
1. This Act may be cited
as the Hotels Aid Act.
Interpretation
2. In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires-
"extension" means the provision of additional accommodation or of additional amenities to an existing hotel;
"hotel" means any premises in which accommodation is supplied to or is available to be supplied to person in exchange for money or other valuable consideration;
"hotel owner" means any person who has been given a provisional approval under the provisions of section 4;
"project" means the building of a new hotel or the extension of an existing hotel;
"provisional approval" means the approval in principle by the Minister, signified in writing, to an application made under the provisions of section 3.
(Amended
by Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
Application to be made to Minister
3.-(1) In order to obtain
the benefit of the provisions of this Act, any person wishing to carry out a
project may apply to the Minister
for provisional approval of the proposed
project and, with his application, give the information with regard thereto as
specified
in subsection (2) and such other information as may be required by the
Minister.
(Amended
by Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
(2)
The information required to be given with an application under the provisions of
subsection (1) shall be as follows:-
(a) the location and description of the site;
(b) the number and description of bedrooms and beds and of the toilet facilities, in the case of an existing hotel;
(c) the number and description of proposed new bedrooms and beds and the toilet facilities proposed to be established in connection therewith;
(d) a description of each public room both proposed and, in the case of an extension to an existing hotel, existing;
(e) a detailed description of any other amenities existing or proposed;
(f) a sketch plan showing in sufficient detail the site and lay-out of the proposed hotel or extension and the amenities thereof;
(g) an estimate of the cost of the project;
(h) where it is proposed to carry out the project in stages, a description, and an estimate of the cost, of each individual stage and details of the proposed timetable;
(i) details of the proposed method of financing the project.
(3)
Without prejudice to his powers under section 4, the Minister may specify
particular requirements applicable to any particular
area of
Fiji.
(Amended. by
Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
Provisional approval
4.-(1) The Minister, upon
receiving an application under the provisions of section 3, shall consider such
application and may, in
his discretion-
(a) reject the application;
(b) give provisional approval to the application with or without such conditions as he may consider reasonable; or
(c) give provisional approval to a part, and reject the remainder, of the application and may impose such conditions to his partial provisional approval as he may consider reasonable.
(2)
In arriving at his decision as aforesaid, the following matters shall be taken
into consideration by the Minister:-
(a) the requirements for the accommodation of travellers in the area concerned;
(b) whether the proposed hotel or extension will make an adequate contribution to the requirements of the area concerned;
(c) whether the proposed accommodation is of suitable size and standard for the area;
(d) whether adequate amenities would be provided by the project.
(3)
The decision of the Minister under the provisions of subsection (1) shall be
final but, in case of rejection, shall not preclude
any person from submitting a
fresh application or amending his original
application.
(Amended
by Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
Grant of subsidy
5.-(1) Subject to the
other provisions of this section, where an hotel owner-
(a) has been granted provisional approval; and
(b) has completed the project and the amenities thereto have been provided in accordance with the provisional approval,
he
shall be granted a subsidy up to a maximum rate of 7 per cent of the total
capital expenditure incurred in the project and in the
provision of such
amenities as may be approved by the Minister in the provisional approval, but
less the cost of any land acquired
for the
project.
(Amended
by Legal Notice 112 of 1970; Act 17 of 1981, s. 2.)
(2) (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), the Minister; in his discretion, may authorise payment of the subsidy by instalments upon the production to him of progress payment certificates signed by an architect, registered under the provisions of the Architects Act, or such other suitably qualified person as may be approved by the Minister in that respect;
(Cap. 258.)
(b) where payment of the subsidy is made by instalments under the provisions of paragraph (a), the final payment shall not be made until such time as properly audited accounts have been produced to the satisfaction of the Minister, showing in adequate detail the amount of total capital expenditure incurred in the project.
(Amended by Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
(3)
Where payment of the subsidy is made by instalments under the provisions of
paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and the project is
not completed or is not
completed to the satisfaction of the Minister, no further payments shall be made
to the hotel owner:
Provided that
the Minister may, in his discretion, make further payments where work on the
project is resumed or where satisfactory
completion subsequently takes
place.
(Amended by
Legal Notice 112 of
1970.)
*(4)
The provisions of this section, unless further extended by resolution of
Parliament, shall expire on 31 December
1966:
Provided that, in respect of
any application made by an hotel owner prior to 31 December 1966, any payments
of subsidy unpaid at that
date may be made in accordance with the provisions of
this Act.
(Amended
by Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
*
Extended to 31 December 1986 by Resolutions 9 December 1976 and 9 December
1981.
Hotel owner may apply for investment allowance as alternative
6. Where an hotel owner
elects so to do he may, instead of accepting a subsidy under the provisions of
section 5, upon satisfying
the Minister of his eligibility to receive such a
subsidy, avail himself of an investment allowance in accordance with the
provisions
of section 8:
Provided
that, where an hotel owner has elected to avail himself of an investment
allowance in accordance with the provisions of section
8 but no allowance has at
that time actually been claimed under the provisions of that section, he may,
subject to the approval of
the Minister, revoke the election in. favour of the
provisions of section 5 and any such revocation shall be final and binding on
such hotel
owner.
(Amended by
Legal Notice 112 of 1970; Act 35 of 1975, s. 2.)
Special depreciation allowance
7. An hotel owner who has
been granted a subsidy under the provisions of section 5 shall, in addition, be
entitled, in each of the
15 years immediately succeeding the year in which
capital expenditure has been incurred in the project, to claim a special
depreciation
allowance against the total income arising in respect of that
income year for income tax purposes from that hotel or from any other
hotel
owned by the hotel owner of such amount of the total amount of capital
expenditure as the hotel owner, in his discretion, so
chooses, but so that no
more than the total amount of capital expenditure shall be claimed as special
depreciation allowance. For
the purposes of this section, the total amount of
capital expenditure incurred in the project shall include the provision of such
amenities as may be approved by the Minister, but shall exclude the cost of any
land acquired for such building or extension and
the amount of any subsidy
granted under the provisions of section 5. The special depreciation allowance
for which provision is made
in this section shall be an alternative and not in
addition to any claim for depreciation in accordance with the provisions of the
Income Tax
Act.
(Cap.
201.)
(Amended by
Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
Investment allowance
8.-(1) Where an hotel
owner has elected to avail himself of an investment allowance under the
provisions of section 6 and not to claim
a subsidy under the provisions of
section 5, he shall be entitled to claim the following
allowance:-
(a) an amount of chargeable income equal to 55 per cent of the total capital expenditure incurred in the project including the provision of such amenities as may be approved by the Minister, but less the cost of any land acquired for such project, shall be free of income tax;
(b) so much of such amount as shall be free of income tax in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) and which cannot be set off against the chargeable income for the first fiscal year of the hotel owner after the commencement of operation or after the completion of the extension shall be carried forward and be set off against the chargeable income of the next successive fiscal years of the hotel owner until such amount is wholly set off.
(Amended by Legal Notice 112 of 1970.)
(2)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1), an hotel owner who has elected
to avail himself of an investment allowance,
may claim depreciation under the
provisions of the Income Tax Act, and, for this purpose, the investment
allowance shall not be taken into
account.
(Cap.
201.)
Procedure on sale of hotel
9. Where the property of
an hotel has been sold and the capital expenditure in respect of such hotel has,
in accordance with the provisions
of section 7, been wholly or partly set off
against income, the like consequences shall ensue as respects both the vendor
and the
purchaser with regard to the provisions of paragraph (a) of section 21
of the Income Tax Act as would have ensued if the transaction were the sale and
purchase of depreciable property in the normal course of
events.
(Cap.
201.)
Procedure in case of loss
10. Where any loss is
incurred in connection with any hotel in respect of which a special depreciation
allowance has been allowed
under the provisions of section 7, such loss may be
set off against the income of any other hotel owned by the hotel owner or may
be
carried forward and set off against the income of the hotel or any other hotel
owned by the hotel owner for subsequent years,
notwithstanding the period
prescribed by section 22 of the Income Tax
Act.
(Cap.
201.)
Procedure when amount not written off at end of 15 years
11. Where, at the
expiration of the period of 15 years; any of the capital expenditure referred to
in section. 7 has not been written
off, depreciation allowance under the
provisions of the Income Tax Act, may be claimed by the hotel owner, in the
normal manner, upon the balance so
remaining.
(Cap.
201.)
Controlled by Ministry of Economic Development, Planning and Tourism
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