Arunachal Pradesh Tourism (Trade Registration and Regulation) Act, 2016
No: 4 Dated: May, 12 2016
The Arunachal Pradesh Tourism (Trade Registration and Regulation) Act, 2016
(Act No. 4 of 2016)
An Act to provide for registration and regulation of Tourism trade and businesses and matters connected therewith and incidental thereto:
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Arunachal Pradesh in the Sixty-Seventh Year of the Republic of India.
CHAPTER - 1
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Arunachal Pradesh Tourism (Trade Registration and Regulation) Act, 2016.
(2) it extends to the whole of the State of Arunachal Pradesh.
(3) It shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires;
(a) "Adventure sports" means an outdoor activity undertaken for sports or recreation on land or in water or in the air, as the case may be, which shall include water sports, aero- sports, trekking, rafting, skiing, heli-skiing, Bungee jumping and hot air ballooning with an inherent risk to the life or limb of the participant or any other sports as may notified by the Government from time to time ;
(b) "Adventure sports operator" means any person or organization or enterprise, as the case may be, engaged in or offering to engage for adventure sports on commercial basis i.e. for the purpose of training, recreation or sports;
(c) "Certificate of registration" means a certificate issued under this Act;
(d) "Competent Authority" means the Secretary, Department of Tourism, Government of Arunachal Pradesh.
(e) "Government" means the Government of Arunachal Pradesh;
(f) "Guide" means a person who engages himself as a paid guide for the tourists;
(g) "Local authority" means the Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council or Cantonment Board or Nagar Panchayat or Gram Panchayat or in other cases, the district administration or such authority as may be prescribed by the Government ;
(h) "Malpractice" includes cheating, touting, impersonation, obstruction in allowing free choice for stay or travel arrangement, charging rent or remuneration higher than that fixed under this Act, failure to display the rent list, failure to give cash memos, willful failure to execute an order within the stipulated period and according to the terms agreed upon, failure to provide accommodation to the tourists when available, failure to provide promised facilities and providing substandard equipment and untrained personnel by the adventure sports operator;
Explanation. - The expression "touting" means coercing for accommodation, transportation, sightseeing or pestering for any particular premises, establishment or any other services connected with tourism with the consideration of personal benefit;
(i) "Official Gazette" means the Gazette of Arunachal Pradesh;
(j) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(k) "Registration Authority" means the authority notified as such by the State Government under the Act;
Provided that different authorities may be notified for different areas and for different provisions of this Act;
(l) "Tourism unit" means any establishment providing facilities and services to the tourists and includes hotel, resorts, motels, time share units, apartments, houseboats, motor caravans, guest houses, yatri niwases, restaurants and bars, amusement parks, theme parks, water sports centers, aero-sports centers, golf courses, handicraft village complexes, camps, river cruises, lake cruise projects, adventure sports complexes, training institutes for adventure sports or tourism industry doing business for a monetary consideration and any other type of establishment as may be notified by the Government from time to time;
(m) "Tourism unit operator" means any person who owns, runs or operates a tourism unit and includes a person managing or operating the affairs on behalf of the proprietor;
(n) "Tourist" means a person or group of persons, including pilgrims visiting the State of Arunachal Pradesh; and
(o) "Travel agent/Tour operator" means a person engaged in the business of making travel arrangements for holiday packages for tourists for monetary consideration.
CHAPTER - 2
Registration of Tourism Units, Travel Agents/Tour Operators, Guides and Adventure Sports Operators
3. Registration of the tourism unit. - (1) Every person intending to operate a tourism unit shall, before operating the tourism unit, apply for registration to the prescribed authority in the prescribed manner:
Provided that any person already operating a tourism unit on the date of commencement of this Act shall apply for registration within ninety days from the date of commencement of this Act:
Provided further that if any person, operating a tourism unit, makes any addition or alteration in the tourism unit, shall apply for fresh registration within ninety days from the date of such addition or alteration.
(2) Every application made under sub-section (1) shall be disposed of within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of application.
(3) No person shall operate a tourism unit unless it is registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
4. Registration of the travel agent/tour operator or guide. - (1) No person shall carry on the business of a travel agent/ tour operator or a guide unless he is registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act:
Provided that no person shall be eligible to be registered as a guide, unless he possesses such qualifications as may be prescribed :
Provided further that notwithstanding any prescribed qualification the persons who are working as guides, on the date of commencement of this Act, shall ipso-facto be registered as guides.
(2) Every person intending to act as a travel agent/tour operator or a guide shall, before he commences to act as such, apply for registration to the prescribed authority in the prescribed manner:
Provided that any person acting as travel agent/tour operator or a guide on the date of commencement of this Act shall apply for registration within ninety days from the date of commencement of this Act.
(3) Every application made under this Section shall be disposed of within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of application.
5. Registration of the adventure sports operator. - (1) No person shall carry on the business of adventure sports unless he is registered in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2) Every person intending to operate an adventure sports institute or to act as an adventure sports operator shall, before he commences to act as such, apply for registration to the prescribed authority in the prescribed manner.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), any person already acting as an adventure sports operator shall apply for registration within ninety days from the date of commencement of this Act.
(4) Every application made under this section shall be disposed of within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of application.
6. Certificate of registration of the tourism unit, travel agent/ tour operator, guide and adventure sports operator. - The regulation authority shall, unless registration is refused under section 7, direct the name and particulars of the tourism unit or travel agent/tour operator or guide or adventure sports operator, as the case may be, cause to be entered in the register maintained for the purpose and shall issue a certificate of registration to the tourism unit or the travel agent/tour operator or the guide or the adventure sports operator, as the case may be, in the prescribed form.