Did you know that 13 licenses are required to obtain a gun, while 32 are required to open a restaurant in Delhi NCR? That’s what vice president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and CEO of Wow Momos, Sagar Daryani has claimed, complaining that these regulatory processes make it difficult for restauranteurs to operate and sustain their businesses.

He called for “one nation one regulation” similar to the political phrase “one nation one election”. While he stressed the need to maintain uniformity in regulations to avoid duplication of work as municipal licenses are often issued for the same purpose as the FSSAI license, he added that the Lieutenant Governor of the National Capital has assured NRAI that the former would try to simplify processes and compliance. He said that the situation is getting better across states, as easing the licensing regime for food services would contribute to more job creation.

NRAI President and Director at Azure Hospitality, Kabir Suri, at a recent press meet said that an increase in disposable income and youth is driving consumption, with eating out & ordering increasing at the cost of lesser cooking at homes. Stating that the hiccups in the sector are understandable due to movement of the unorganised sector into the organised sector, he pointed out that the NRAI is working directly with the unorganised food sector as well as organising training camps for them in partnership with the FSSAI as well as working on how AI and other new technologies can be applied in the sector.

As people open to newer cuisines, several new trends are also emerging. Nitin Saluja, Founder of Chaayos and Chairman of NRAI’s Steering Committee for the India Food Services Report 2024 said that conscious eating after gym, overnight and late-night consumption is sizeable compared to a decade back. Daryani added that while big cities are exposed to big brands, the real growth and profits are in Tier2 and 3 cities.

Earlier, Suri advocated for a single-window policy for faster restaurant openings, uniform licensing across states, and seamless renewals. He is hopeful that the industry will receive Input Tax Credit (ITC) on its expenses, a matter already raised with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the GST Council’s Rate Rationalisation Committee, and several states.

The NRAI argued that while the 5% GST may seem beneficial, many restaurants paying GST on rentals are incurring losses. They are calling for an option between 5% GST or 12% GST plus ITC to foster business growth.

The industry believes that passing on GST benefits to customers and reducing operational expenses will encourage the opening of new restaurants, thereby creating more jobs and revenue.