Introduction: El Salvador Imposes a tax of $1,000 on travelers from India and Africa
El Salvador is charging travelers from Africa or India $1,000 in order to discourage them from traveling via the Central American nation and into the United States.
El Salvador’s port authorities stated in a post on its website dated October 20 that those traveling on passports from India or any of the more than 50 African countries will be required to pay the cost.
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Price for Indian and African passports and additional VAT
Travelers with passports from India or any of the more than 50 African nations must pay this price, according to a notice posted on the port authority of El Salvador’s website on October 20th.
Passengers from Africa and India would have to pay an additional $1,130 (Rs 94,038.32) for Value Added Tax (VAT). On October 23, the extra charge was implemented. In the official release, it was stated that it was adopted in response to the rising use of El Salvador’s principal international airport.
This week, US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs Brian Nichols met with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador to talk about “efforts to address irregular migration,” among other things. In the fiscal year 2023, which concluded in September, US Customs and Border Patrol encountered 3.2 million migrants nationwide, a record number.
Through Central America, a large number of migrants from Africa and other regions reach the US.
Airlines will have to provide daily data of passengers arriving from 57 African countries as well as India to the Salvadoran authorities.
Major airport user Avianca from Colombia has begun notifying travelers that those coming from the following countries need to pay the required amount in order to board flights to El Salvador.
This new tax is part of a global trend in which many countries are thinking about imposing new fees or levies on visitors and travelers, or have already done so. This practise has already been embraced by a number of nations, including Thailand, Barcelona, Valencia, Portugal, Belgium, Venice, Austria, Bhutan, and France.
Contributed by Ankit Raj Sharma
Edited by Imtiaz Ullah