Pakistan Hotels and Restaurants Act, 1976

The Pakistan Hotels and Restaurants Act, 1976 regulates the standards of service and amenities that hotels and restaurants must provide to tourists across Pakistan, administered by a government-appointed Controller.

Section 2 defines key terms, including "hotel" (a lodging establishment with at least ten lettable bedrooms meeting prescribed criteria, excluding certain homes/hostels for the aged or students and government rest houses), "restaurant" (a public eating house meeting prescribed criteria), "guest," "tourist," and "fair rates." Section 3 provides for appointment of a Controller, Deputy Controllers, and Assistant Controllers to administer the Act, and Section 4 allows the Federal Government to set up an Advisory Committee to assist in administration.

Section 5 requires every hotel and restaurant owner to apply for registration within two months of the Act taking effect (or of opening), including for determination of fair rates and, for hotels, classification; registration can be refused if the establishment doesn't meet prescribed standards of health, hygiene, comfort, structural safety, and staff medical fitness. Section 6 sets up a one-to-five star classification system for hotels based on prescribed minimum criteria for each class. Section 7 requires a separate licence (on top of registration) before a hotel or restaurant can operate, valid for one year and renewable. Section 8 allows the Controller to refuse or cancel registration and licences — for example, if the owner is declared insolvent, the business is discontinued without approval, the Act or rules are contravened, or the establishment stops meeting the criteria for its class.

Sections 10-16 give the Controller significant power over pricing and operations: fixing "fair rates" that must be displayed (Sections 10 and 13), setting occupancy limits per room (Section 11), prohibiting charges in excess of fair rates (Section 15), and even prohibiting certain trades or occupations on the premises (Section 16). Section 17 addresses eviction of guests, and Sections 18-19 give the Controller broad procedural powers, including inspecting premises and calling for information. Sections 20-21 require apprenticeship/training schemes and medical facilities for employees. Section 22 covers offences and penalties, though the extract does not state specific fine or imprisonment amounts. Section 26 grants indemnity for good-faith official acts, Section 29 is the rule-making power (covering registration/licence fees, classification criteria, and fair rate procedures), Section 30 disapplies the older Sarais Act, 1867 and Karachi Hotels and Lodging-Houses (Control) Act, 1950 to establishments covered here, and Section 31 repeals the preceding Pakistan Hotels and Restaurants Ordinance, 1976.

This is an older law from 1976; while the extract does not show extensive amendment footnotes, readers relying on specific figures such as fees, penalty amounts, or classification criteria should check the current rules made under Section 29, since these are largely left to subordinate rule-making rather than stated in the Act itself.