The cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the Bangladesh Hotel and Restaurant Act, keeping the provision of three months imprisonment and a TK 500,000 fine for violation of the law.
In the previous law, the fine was only TK 5,000 and there was no jail term.
The decision was made at the regular meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Emerging from the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told Journalists that the draft Act will be sent to parliament’s running session for passage.
He said: “The law has been prepared to legalise the Bangladesh Hotel and Restaurant Ordinance, 1982 which became ineffective after the verdict of the High Court that sentenced the two military ruling periods as illegal.”
The cabinet secretary said: “The motels, resorts and other relevant estublishments will also be treated as hotels and restaurants according to the new law.”
The cabinet secretary said the new draft has widened the definition of hotel, bringing all hotels, motels, lodges and rest houses under the jurisdiction of the law.
The law proposed taking prior permission of the civil aviation and tourism ministry for construction of hotel above three-star status.
The law also proposed stringent measures for safety of the food and drinks to be served in the hotels.
The punishment for violating the law would be doubled for further violation, he informed.
