Starting a Homestay in Sikkim

01 / Executive finding

The practical starting point

• The present Sikkim tourism-registration framework is built around the Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 2024 (Act 23 of 2024) and the Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Rules, 2025. The official 2025 Rules expressly state that they are made under section 29(1) of the 2024 Act and extend throughout Sikkim. The direct official Gazette copy of the 2024 Act itself was Not stated in the current official material reviewed during this review, although the Rules, current fee notification, Atithi system and Government statements all identify that Act as the governing statute. [S1, opening notification; S6, portal]
• The homestay-specific Rules describe a house located “basically in a rural area” and require the applicant to be the house owner/promoter, with the owner and family physically residing in the same homestay unit. [S1, Rules 30 and 32(1)–(2)]
• The live 2026 Tourism Trade Registration Portal conflicts with that rural limitation: it expressly advertises registration for “rural and urban homestay units” in Gold, Silver and Bronze categories. No later Gazette amendment expressly expanding Rule 32 from rural to urban was located. New urban homestay applications therefore require written Tourism Department clarification. The official sources are not aligned. [S1, Rules 30/32; S2, portal “Homestays”]
• A qualifying homestay has a minimum of one and maximum of five rooms exclusively for tourists. The Rules do not state a separate maximum number of guest beds for the Sikkim homestay category. [S1, Rule 32(1), Rule 32(9)]
• The homestay Rules require a double room of at least 150 sq ft, a single room of at least 100 sq ft, and an attached bathroom/toilet of at least 36 sq ft. Minimum bed length is 6.5 ft. [S1, Rules 32(6), 32(9), 35]
• Rented houses are expressly ineligible for the Sikkim homestay category. This makes a long-term lessee materially different from an owner-occupier, even though other tourism categories may have different rules. [S1, Rule 32(9)]
• Form IV is individual-owner oriented: it seeks Sikkim Subject/Certificate of Identification, ownership/Parcha, a minimum Class-X certificate, access plan, photographs, Panchayat/Councillor recommendation and a “GST clearance certificate.” The reviewed homestay provisions do not establish a company, LLP, trust, partnership, professional manager or caretaker as an alternative registration holder. [S1, Form IV; Rule 32(2)]
• Since 1 September 2026, physical submission and physical movement of homestay registration applications have been discontinued. Applications for Homestays, Hotels/Resorts, B&Bs, Service Apartments, Holiday Homes and Restaurants are to be submitted and processed online through Sikkim SSO; the Bank Receipt System was simultaneously discontinued for these online services. [S5, Office Order Ref. 162/T&CAD/2026, 29 August 2026]
• Current homestay registration fees are ₹5,000 Gold / ₹3,000 Silver / ₹2,000 Bronze; annual renewal fees are ₹2,000 / ₹1,500 / ₹1,000 respectively. Payment through the official portal does not guarantee eligibility or approval. [S3, Pricing Policy, Notification Ref. 06/DoT&CAv dated 25 July 2025]
• The initial tourism registration certificate is stated to be valid for one year and is renewed annually. Renewal should be sought at least one month before expiry; the Rules also address late renewal, penalties and cancellation after the permitted late period. [S1, Rules 6, 52 and 55]
• The Rules establish a trade-licence dependency: tourism registration is not the complete authority to commence business. Rule 5 provides for tourism registration for obtaining the concerned trade licence and says the commencement certificate is issued only after submission of that trade licence. [S1, Rule 5]
• Registered accommodation must participate in Sikkim's Tourism Sustainable Development Fund/Atithi GIS framework. The Rules presently prescribe ₹50 per overnight tourist, subject to specified exemptions; the accommodation operator records guests through Atithi and transfers collected amounts on the prescribed cycle. [S1, Rules 70–83; S6, Atithi/GoS clarification]
• Foreign-guest reporting contains a second material conflict. The current central Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025, Rule 17, expressly include a “home stay” within accommodation and require electronic Form III reporting within 24 hours of foreigner arrival and departure, with electronic records retained for at least one year. The current Sikkim Police Special Branch page instead instructs homestays/institutions to use Form S. The official sources are not aligned; the Sikkim FRO should resolve the current operational filing route in writing. [S8, Rule 17, p.28 of Gazette PDF; S9, FRO/IVFRT instructions]
• The current Tourism Form IV asks for a “GST clearance certificate”, but that wording does not establish that every small homestay is legally required to obtain GST registration. CBIC material states a ₹20 lakh service-supplier registration threshold for Sikkim, subject to the CGST Act's compulsory-registration provisions and other facts. The exact Tourism Department meaning of “GST clearance certificate” therefore needs clarification. [S1, Form IV; S11, CBIC threshold material]
• Evidence is not sufficient for publication as a settled statewide guide because the rural/urban contradiction, absence of a located current Gold/Silver/Bronze grading checklist, unauthenticated portions of the newly launched SSO workflow, the Form-IV GST-clearance issue and the foreign-guest Form III/Form S conflict remain unresolved.

02 / Document chronology

Use the current rules and implementation

13 June 2008 — Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Rules, 2008. These rules were made under the Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 1998. Their definition of “hotel” broadly included homestay and several other accommodation/food businesses. They remain downloadable but are historical. [S17] 2013 — Home Stay Establishment Rules/Form era. The Tourism website still hosts an Annexure-I application titled “Application Form under the Registration of Home Stay Establishment Rules, 2013.” It required, among other items, a ₹1,000 B.R. receipt and did not contain the current Class-X or GST-clearance entries. It is not consistent with the 2025 Rules, 2025 fee notification or September 2026 online process and should be treated as legacy material only. [S16] 2024 — Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 2024 (23 of 2024). The current 2025 Rules and current registration fee notification both identify this Act as their statutory foundation. The direct Gazette text of the Act was Not stated in the current official material reviewed during this review. [S1; S3] 2025 — Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Rules, 2025. These contain the current located homestay-specific Rules 30–36, application Form IV, inspection/registration provisions, renewal and operating provisions, and the TSD framework. Exact Gazette publication number/date are not printed in the official downloadable copy reviewed. [S1] 25 July 2025 — Fee Notification Ref. 06/DoT&CAv. Current Tourism portal uses this notification for Gold/Silver/Bronze homestay registration and renewal fees. [S3] 1 September 2025 — Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025. Central rules replaced specified earlier foreigner-registration rules, subject to savings, and now expressly include homestays in Rule 17's accommodation-reporting regime. [S8, Rule 1 and Rule 17] 19 June 2025 / 24 June 2025 — UNNATI Homestay Guidelines. These are a funding programme framework, not a replacement for the Sikkim Tourism Rules. [S14–S15] 26 August 2026 — Tourism online registration system launched. Fresh registration and annual renewal for six establishment categories were moved to the SSO-linked online system. [S4] 29 August 2026 — Office Order Ref. 162/T&CAD/2026. Effective 1 September 2026, physical submission/movement and the Bank Receipt System were discontinued for homestays and the other online categories. [S5]

Chronology conclusion

The later digital office order resolves the practical submission/payment channel against the still-printed B.R. field in Form IV: a current applicant should use SSO and the online gateway, not the historical Bank Receipt mechanism. No located instrument expressly amended the words “basically in a rural area” in Rules 30/32. Consequently the portal's newer statement that both urban and rural homestays are registerable remains an unresolved substantive inconsistency rather than an amendment that can safely be assumed. The exact express repeal/supersession chain from every 2008/2013 instrument to the current Act/Rules is Not stated in the current official material reviewed.

03 / Category definitions

Choose the right accommodation category

The fact that another category accommodates a different ownership or operator arrangement does not allow those provisions to be imported into the homestay category.

04 / Eligibility decision tree

Check whether the applicant and property qualify

Start with the exact property address and local-body category.

1. Is the address rural/GPU territory?

• Yes → proceed.
• No, it is an urban/municipal/ward address → Rules 30/32 say “basically” rural, while the live portal advertises urban homestays. Confirm this in writing with the authority. [S1, Rules 30/32; S2]
• Protected/forest/high-altitude/heritage-sensitive location → tourism-category fit alone does not determine land/building/environment/foreigner permissions. Confirm this in writing with the authority.

1. Who owns the house?

• Applicant owns it and can provide ownership/Parcha → proceed.
• Applicant is only a long-term tenant/lessee → Rule 32 says rented houses are not eligible. does not appear to fit the published homestay definition. [S1, Rule 32(9)]
• Joint/inherited ownership → ownership proof is required, but a current homestay-specific co-owner-consent mechanism was not located. Confirm this in writing with the authority.
• Company/LLP owns property → the specific homestay Rules require an individual/family owner/promoter residing there; corporate registration-holder entitlement is not established. Confirm this in writing with the authority.

1. Who is the proposed applicant?

• Individual Sikkim owner holding Sikkim Subject/COI evidence → proceed.
• Non-owner professional operator, company, LLP, management company, trustee or firm → no current homestay-specific route was located. Confirm this in writing with the authority.

1. Who will actually live in the property?

• Owner/promoter and family will physically reside in the same unit → proceed.
• Owner lives permanently elsewhere and caretaker alone lives on site → owner-residence requirement is not met on the located text. does not appear to fit the published homestay definition.
• Owner periodically visits but is not physically resident → does not appear to fit the published homestay definition unless Tourism gives a contrary written interpretation. [S1, Rule 32(2)]

1. Who will operate it?

• Resident owner/family operates it → proceed.
• a professional company manages reservations/operations while qualifying owner/family remains resident → the permitted boundary of professional management is not defined. Confirm this in writing with the authority.
• Management company replaces resident owner → does not appear to fit the published homestay definition on the present evidence.

1. How many guest rooms?

• 1–5 qualifying tourist rooms → proceed.
• More than 5 → Consider another accommodation category.
• Maximum guest-bed capacity proposed but no room problem → statewide homestay bed ceiling is Not stated in the material reviewed. Not established in the published material.

1. Do rooms meet current dimensional standards?

• Double ≥150 sq ft; single ≥100 sq ft; attached bath/toilet ≥36 sq ft → proceed.
• Below these → does not appear to fit the published homestay definition/STANDARD. [S1, Rule 32]

1. Is the property existing and inspection-ready?

• Existing, completed, owner-occupied and compliant → This appears to fit the published route, subject to the remaining checks, subject to rural/urban status and departmental approval.
• Proposed new construction/land only → the Rules' provisional registration route reviewed is expressly for hotels/resorts, not homestays. Confirm this in writing with the authority before construction is designed around a future homestay approval. [S1, Rule 8]
• Existing running property using an old registration → check current annual validity/renewal and migrate to current digital process. This appears to fit the published route, subject to the remaining checks only if present requirements continue to be met. Use these branches as a starting test and confirm the result for the exact property.

05 / Applicant and operating structures

Set the ownership and operating structure

A private LLP agreement, profit share, management contract, power of attorney or lease cannot by itself override a statutory eligibility condition.

06 / Property and classification standards

Prepare the property for inspection

UNNATI's different room sizes, bed numbers and Gold/Silver checklist must not be substituted for the Sikkim Tourism registration standards. They serve a separate incentive programme.

07 / Documents and declarations

Assemble the application file

Download the Sikkim property and application checklist ↓

08 / Application and inspection process

Follow the application and inspection process

Rules 30–31 say the homestay application is made to the Prescribed Authority in Form IV, acknowledged with prescribed fee/documents, and followed by physical verification. Rule 41 provides on-site evaluation by the Enforcement Officer and says the property should be ready for inspection at any time, without prior notice. The Government's 2026 portal launch says applicants can submit from home/cybercafé, receive SMS notifications and download a certificate after the approval/payment workflow. Named Prescribed Authority: Not stated in the current official material reviewed. Named Appellate Authority: Not stated in the current official material reviewed. The Rules use these statutory titles, but a current appointment notification identifying the officeholder/title was not located.

09 / Fees, timelines, validity and renewal

Confirm fees, timing and certificate validity

The 30-day/one-month provisions are not a promise that a defective, incomplete, disputed or ineligible application will receive approval by that date.

Legacy certificate warning

The old 2013 form's ₹1,000 B.R. amount is not current. Current fees come from the 25 July 2025 fee notification and current online portal. [S16 versus S3]

10 / Operating duties after registration

Run the registered homestay correctly

Certificate and trade status. Registration must remain valid and renewed annually. Rule 5 separately links commencement to the concerned trade licence. Certificate transfer/subletting/assignment is restricted and requires written permission of the Prescribed Authority; the certificate is described as non-transferable. [S1, Rules 5 and 67] Tariffs/rates. Operators of tourism entities must submit tariffs to the Prescribed Authority at the beginning of the financial year under the Rules; overcharging can lead to financial penalty and repeat enforcement. [S1, Rule 64] Complaint and billing records. Rule 18 requires registered tourism entities to maintain a complaint/suggestion book, guest/tourist visitor register and numbered duplicate bill/receipt books. [S1, Rule 18] Guest identification. Under Rule 18, a guest should not be admitted until the prescribed details and identity information are entered. The rule requires identity-card records to be maintained for at least three months. [S1, Rule 18] Food-rate display. Rule 18 requires the rate list of eatables to be displayed where applicable. [S1, Rule 18] Cancellation/refund to guests. Rule 16 contains a general cancellation schedule in the current Tourism Rules: more than 72 hours before the booking date—50% of advance refundable; more than 48 hours—25%; more than 24 hours—10%; within 24 hours—no refund. Applicability to the particular transaction and any later consumer-law requirements should be checked before publishing a consumer-facing cancellation rule. [S1, Rule 16] Atithi/TSD. Accommodation operators must record tourists in Atithi and administer the TSD Fund. The Rules currently impose ₹50 per overnight tourist, with exemptions including children below five, government officials on duty and qualifying local residents. Collection/deposit/reporting duties include the weekly transfer mechanism prescribed in Rules 75–83 and TSD-information display. [S1, Rules 70–83; S6] Foreign visitors. Separate central reporting applies. MHA Rule 17 requires:

• particulars from each foreigner, including OCI Cardholder;
• arrival/departure record;
• electronic retention for at least one year;
• electronic transmission of Form III within 24 hours after arrival; and
• departure details within 24 hours after departure. “Accommodation” expressly includes a home stay. [S8, Rule 17(1)–(7), Gazette PDF p.28] Sikkim Police's current FRO page nevertheless says Homestays/Institutions use Form S. Until clarified, operators intending to receive foreign guests should obtain written FRO guidance rather than silently choosing either instruction. [S9] Protected-area permits. Foreign guests face Sikkim-specific RAP/PAP restrictions independently of accommodation registration. [S18] Food. A homestay that conducts a food business must assess FSSAI/FoSCoS registration or licence by its actual Kind of Business and turnover/activity. FoSCoS currently shows ₹12 lakh as the petty-food-business registration threshold for relevant categories; restaurant/hotel and other categories have their own licensing criteria. Do not automatically register a five-room Sikkim homestay as an FSSAI “hotel” merely because Tourism calls it accommodation. [S10] Waste and hygiene. Wet/dry segregation, hygienic kitchen, clean rooms/bathrooms and 24-hour water remain ongoing standards, not one-time inspection conditions. [S1, Rule 34] Monthly tourism statistics outside Atithi/TSD: Not stated in the current official material reviewed. Universal certificate-display requirement specifically for homestays: Not stated in the current official material reviewed in the reviewed homestay chapter. Incident-reporting period specifically for homestays: Not stated in the current official material reviewed. Insurance: no mandatory homestay insurance provision was located. Public liability/property/business interruption insurance should therefore be characterised as a business-risk recommendation, not a located Tourism-registration condition.

11 / Adjacent approvals and dependencies

Close the approvals outside Tourism

12 / Incentives, subsidy and funding

Evaluate incentives without assuming sanction

A. UNNATI 2024 — current verifiable central programme

The strongest current, homestay-specific incentive source located is the Uttar Poorva Transformative Industrialization Scheme (UNNATI), 2024, administered by DPIIT. DPIIT issued dedicated Homestay Guidelines in June 2025, and Sikkim's Commerce & Industries Department lists those guidelines on its own circular page. [S13–S15]

The current portal warning is especially important: although DPIIT's scheme page shows an amended outer registration date of 30 September 2026, the portal presently says that further applications have been stopped because applications have exceeded available funding allocated to the states. The calendar deadline therefore does not mean a new applicant can currently file. [S13]

B. Capital Investment Incentive

The located scheme material provides differentiated Zone A/Zone B assistance. For a homestay that otherwise qualifies:

• GST-applicable unit: CII described as 30% in Zone A, subject to ₹5 crore cap; 50% in Zone B, subject to ₹7.5 crore cap.
• GST-not-applicable unit: the located scheme table provides 30% in Zone A / 50% in Zone B, with the stated caps reaching ₹10 crore under the relevant table. The exact applicable Zone A/Zone B classification for a Sikkim property must be determined from the official UNNATI zone list; it cannot be assumed from district name alone. [S14, incentive table]

C. Capital Interest Subvention

The scheme provides an interest-subvention component, with the located table showing:

• Zone A: 3% for seven years;
• Zone B: 5% for seven years. This requires eligible financing and scheme sanction; it is not a promise that a bank will lend or that DPIIT will accept the project.

D. Manufacturing & Services Linked Incentive

For new eligible service units, the UNNATI portal describes MSLI upper limits of:

• 75% of eligible investment value in Zone A;
• 100% in Zone B, subject to the scheme's eligible-value calculation, net-GST mechanism, overall caps, registration and claims rules. [S13]

E. Processing/sanction route

The homestay guidelines establish an evaluation mechanism involving district/state industry authorities and require scheme scrutiny, verification and sanction. The general route is: online UNNATI filing → DIC/evaluation scrutiny → state-level processing/recommendation → competent DPIIT approval/claim process. For interest-related assistance, bank/financial-institution appraisal and eligible borrowing are separately material. No assistance should be modelled as cash receivable until the property:

1. fits Sikkim Tourism rules;
2. fits UNNATI's additional eligibility;
3. falls in a notified eligible location;
4. meets minimum investment;
5. obtains scheme registration;
6. makes qualifying expenditure through the permitted route;
7. operates for the required period;
8. files the claim; and
9. receives separate sanction.

F. Critical separation: Tourism standard versus UNNATI standard

UNNATI's Annexure-I uses Gold/Silver, different room/capacity criteria and additional items such as reception, signage, police clearance and other scheme conditions. These are funding eligibility requirements and must not be treated as if they are the Sikkim Tourism Department's general Gold/Silver/Bronze registration criteria. [S14]

G. Other state support

Government material refers to homestay-development/capacity-building programmes in Sikkim, but a current, generally open public application with verified per-property grant amount, eligible applicant, expenditure base, bank route and sanction procedure was Not stated in the current official material reviewed. Accordingly:

• a generic “Sikkim homestay subsidy” percentage should not be published;
• a Mega Homestay initiative should not be presented as an open cash scheme without its current guidelines;
• training under Sikkim tourism/livelihood programmes should not be described as a capital subsidy;
• electricity/property-tax concessions should not be modelled unless the underlying current tariff/order is obtained.

13 / Business implications

Translate the rules into a workable project

Before selecting or acquiring property

the project team should establish, for every candidate property:

• exact address, GPU/ward/municipal body and district;
• rural versus urban status;
• ownership chain and whether the intended applicant personally owns the house;
• whether the property would be rented, leased or management-only;
• identity/residency status of the proposed certificate holder;
• whether that owner and family will physically live in the same unit;
• present total rooms and proposed tourist rooms;
• measured room and bathroom sizes;
• access from the road;
• lawful building use and local trade-licence route;
• foreign-guest/location restrictions; and
• whether the commercial model depends on any unresolved urban-homestay interpretation. An urban property should not be acquired on the assumption that the portal wording is sufficient evidence of eligibility.

Before construction or renovation

For a land-only or major-construction project, obtain:

• local building/planning position;
• Tourism Department written category confirmation where material;
• owner-residence plan;
• room-count/room-size confirmation;
• access feasibility;
• utilities/waste/sewage feasibility;
• fire/building-safety position;
• whether the address is eligible for any planned incentive. The Rules' provisional-registration mechanism located for hotels/resorts should not be represented as a homestay pre-approval.

Registration holder versus operating entity

The current sources do not prove that a homestay certificate may be held by one person while a company/LLP becomes the independent regulated operator. The safer research distinction is:

• property title holder — owns land/building;
• eligible homestay applicant — person satisfying Rule 32/Form IV;
• tourism registration holder — person named on certificate;
• resident host — owner/family physically residing in unit;
• manager/service contractor — potentially performs contracted functions;
• employer — engages staff;
• commercial contracting party/investor — contributes capital or receives contractual economics. Those roles should not be collapsed until the Department confirms which may legally differ.

What an LLP or management agreement cannot solve by itself

An LLP, company or management agreement cannot by contract:

• make a rented house “owned”;
• replace a mandatory resident owner;
• expand five tourist rooms into a larger homestay;
• turn an urban address into a permitted rural one;
• waive local building/trade approvals;
• obtain a Tourism grade;
• guarantee a subsidy; or
• transfer a non-transferable Tourism certificate.

Property-development scope

Architectural work, extension, renovation, utility modification and change of use remain conditional on address-specific approvals. Tourism registration should be one workstream inside property due diligence, not the substitute for it.

Commercial planning file

Before the project team proposes business terms, the property file should answer:

1. Who owns the property?
2. Who can legally apply?
3. Who must reside there?
4. Is the property rural or urban?
5. Is any lease involved?
6. How many rooms will legally be sold?
7. Do measured rooms/bathrooms qualify?
8. What Tourism grade is intended and on what published criteria?
9. Which local authority issues the trade licence?
10. Is renovation/construction lawfully sanctioned?
11. Will food be sold and under what FSSAI KOB?
12. Will foreign guests be hosted?
13. Who runs Atithi/TSD and guest registers?
14. Who employs/verifies staff?
15. Does any subsidy assumption survive current scheme closure/location rules?
16. Is the proposed management/company structure accepted in writing by Tourism where it differs from the resident owner? No fixed ownership percentage, capital contribution, revenue share or income commitment can be derived from the tourism rules.

14 / Official-source conflicts

Resolve conflicting official instructions

Conflict 1 — rural versus urban homestay eligibility

Source A: Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Rules, 2025, Rules 30 and 32. Proposition: homestay house is located “basically in a rural area.” [S1] Source B: Current Tourism Trade Registration Portal. Proposition: the Department has a registration framework for “rural and urban homestay units” across Gold/Silver/Bronze. [S2] Date/hierarchy: Source B is much newer operational material, but no Gazette amendment overriding the rural wording of Source A was located. Conclusion: The official sources are not aligned. Affected properties: every proposed new homestay inside Gangtok or another municipality/urban ward, and any address whose rural/urban legal status is uncertain. Authority to resolve: Prescribed Authority / Homestay & Hospitality Section, Tourism & Civil Aviation Department, with the relevant DTO copied. A written answer should identify the legal notification/order authorising urban homestay registration.

Conflict 2 — current paper Form IV versus September 2026 online/payment process

Source A: Form IV embedded in the 2025 Rules contains a B.R. receipt field. [S1] Source B: Office Order Ref. 162/T&CAD/2026 states that physical submission/movement and the Bank Receipt System are discontinued for homestays effective 1 September 2026 and all applications are processed through SSO/online payment. [S5] Hierarchy/date: The newer implementation order expressly changes the administrative submission/payment method. Conclusion: practical channel resolved in favour of online SSO/payment, but the statutory Form IV has not been textually harmonised. Affected properties: every current applicant. Public-guide treatment: show the Form-IV document requirements but instruct users that the live process is online; do not tell applicants to procure a legacy B.R.

Conflict 3 — foreign guest Form III versus Sikkim Police Form S

Source A: Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025, Rule 17. It expressly includes “home stay” in accommodation and requires electronic Form III transmission within 24 hours. [S8] Source B: current Sikkim Police Special Branch page states:

• hotels → Form C;
• homestays/institutions → Form S. [S9] Date/hierarchy: The central Rules were notified on 1 September 2025 and supersede specified older foreigner-registration rules. The state webpage appears operational but does not identify a later legal instrument displacing Rule 17. Conclusion: The official sources are not aligned. Affected properties: every homestay accepting foreigners or OCI Cardholders. Authority to resolve: Foreigners Registration Office, Special Branch, Sikkim Police — fro_siest@nic.in — should confirm the current electronic form and portal following the 2025 central Rules.

Conflict/ambiguity 4 — “GST clearance certificate”

Source A: Form IV requires “GST clearance certificate.” [S1] Source B: central GST law does not make GST registration universally compulsory for every very small service supplier merely because it operates a homestay; current CBIC explanatory material gives a ₹20 lakh service threshold for Sikkim, subject to compulsory-registration provisions and other facts. [S11] These propositions are not necessarily legally contradictory because a “GST clearance certificate” might mean a no-liability/clearance document rather than GSTIN. However, its meaning and issuing authority are not given in Form IV. Conclusion: APPLICATION REQUIREMENT AMBIGUOUS. Affected properties: new or small owner-operated homestays below the normal GST registration threshold. Authority to resolve: Tourism Department with the Sikkim Commercial Taxes/GST authority.

Conflict 5 — Act-year error in Annexure IX

Annexure IX refers to a “Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 2025”, while the Rules, fee portal and current Government systems identify the governing Act as the Sikkim Registration of Tourist Trade Act, 2024. [S1/S3] This appears to be a drafting inconsistency rather than evidence of a separate 2025 Act. Conclusion: retain the discrepancy in internal compliance notes; applicants should use the Department's current generated undertaking rather than correcting official wording themselves.

Apparent classification conflict that is not a legal conflict

Sikkim Tourism uses Gold/Silver/Bronze; UNNATI Homestay Guidelines use Gold/Silver and their own checklist. [S1/S3/S14] This should not be reconciled into one grading table because they serve different legal purposes:

• Sikkim Tourism grade → tourism registration/classification;
• UNNATI grade → additional scheme/incentive assessment. The problem is instead that the current Sikkim Tourism Gold/Silver/Bronze criteria themselves were not located.

15 / Unresolved questions for the authority

Take the remaining questions to the authority

1. Rules 30 and 32 versus live portal: Does the Department presently accept new urban homestay registrations, despite Rules 30/32 describing the house as basically rural? If yes, please provide the Gazette notification, amendment, order or circular authorising urban registrations.
2. What legal test does the Department apply to decide whether an address is “rural” for Rule 32—GPU jurisdiction, municipal boundary, land classification or another criterion?
3. Please provide the current Gold/Silver/Bronze homestay classification checklist, including mandatory versus desirable items and the scoring/decision method used during inspection.
4. Does Form IV's “GST clearance certificate” mean:

• GST registration certificate;
• GST return/tax-clearance certificate;
• a no-liability certificate;
• or another document? What should an otherwise eligible applicant below the GST-registration threshold upload?

1. Where property is held jointly or inherited by several persons, is a co-owner NOC/affidavit required? If yes, what prescribed format and stamp/notarisation is required?
2. Can a company, partnership firm or LLP ever be the homestay Tourism registration holder, or must the registration holder always be the individual resident owner identified in Rule 32/Form IV?
3. Can a qualifying owner remain the registration holder while a professional management company manages reservations, distribution, housekeeping, staffing and guest service under a contract? Which functions, if any, must legally remain with the owner/family?
4. Can a caretaker assist at a homestay while the owner and family continue to reside in the same unit? Is there any prescribed caretaker verification/authorisation?
5. Does temporary absence of the resident owner/family during travel invalidate the residence condition? If not, what test is applied to “physically resides”?
6. Is there any maximum guest-bed capacity in addition to the maximum five tourist rooms?
7. Is there a maximum number of total rooms in the whole residential house, distinct from the five tourist rooms?
8. Are hot water, heating, backup power, Wi-Fi, parking, reception or signage mandatory under the current Tourism Gold/Silver/Bronze checklist? If so, please provide the applicable criteria.
9. Is a Fire NOC or structural-safety certificate universally required for a homestay, or only when triggered by other building/fire law?
10. Which authority is currently notified as the Prescribed Authority under the 2024 Act/2025 Rules for a homestay application?
11. Which office/title is currently the Appellate Authority?
12. Is the “30 days/one month” period in Rules 4/5/41 calculated only after the application is formally deemed complete? How is completeness communicated in the portal?
13. Does the current portal take payment:

• on initial submission;
• before inspection;
• after conditional approval; or
• after final approval? Please reconcile the pricing-policy description with the 26 August 2026 launch statement.

1. Is there a formal online mechanism to amend a registration after:

• increasing/decreasing tourist rooms;
• changing the homestay name;
• death/succession;
• co-owner change;
• renovation;
• management arrangement;
• change of mobile/email?

1. How is succession handled on the death of the registered owner given that the certificate is non-transferable?
2. Can a purchaser of a registered property continue the old registration, or must the purchaser obtain a fresh registration?
3. What is the current Tourism procedure where a certificate is voluntarily surrendered because the property is sold or ceases to operate?
4. Must the homestay display the registration certificate physically at the property?
5. Are separate monthly occupancy/statistical returns required outside Atithi/TSD?
6. Does the Department require police verification of owners, caretakers or employees independently of UNNATI or foreign-guest reporting?
7. To the Sikkim FRO: following Rule 17 of the Immigration and Foreigners Rules, 2025, should Sikkim homestays now submit electronic Form III, or does the FRO continue to require Form S? Which live URL must operators use?
8. For UNNATI, has Sikkim notified the list of tourist attractions/geographical areas satisfying the scheme's 10-km condition? If so, please provide the notification.
9. Are any State homestay capital-subsidy, interest-subsidy or reimbursement applications presently open outside UNNATI? If yes, please provide the current scheme guideline, budget year and application portal.