Govt to chalk out new Civil Aviation policy

14 Dec 2011 Evaluate

Despite growing passenger traffic, the aviation industry is beleaguered with multiple problems which has coerced civil aviation ministry to work on a new civil aviation policy and economic regulatory mechanism for pricing of air tickets.

A Senior Civil Aviation Ministry official said, “We have started fresh work on the new civil aviation policy to meet the challenges of the new decade. It will look into issues of sustainability, viability and human resource of the sector.”

The civil aviation ministry was working on an economic regulatory mechanism for pricing of air tickets as the airlines have been attributing their losses to the pricing of air tickets below their cost price. However, ministry will not regulate the airfares or fix tariff.

“It (pricing of air tickets) is the thrust area. We are also working on an economic mechanism that will look into the issues of legality and others and come up with a report within five months,” the Civil Aviation Ministry official said.

The aviation firms have been reporting losses despite an increase in passenger traffic. In the first half of the April-September 2011 saw increase of 18.8% from the corresponding period of last year. The civil aviation ministry also planning to propose a set of recommendations to ease taxes on aviation turbine fuel to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after PMO wrote to the civil aviation Ministry to examine the tax regime governing the jet fuel.

As per the official the ATF prices and taxes on it would be reviewed in the economic regulatory framework under which the ministry may propose direct import of jet fuel and ease the policy regime in this issue. The ministry will also recommend restructuring of custom and excise duty on jet fuel. The jet fuel accounts for 40% of the operating expenses for an airline. Prices in India are higher that many other countries in the world.

Presently, state governments charges 4% to 30% taxes on ATF. Efforts to get states on board to rationalize taxes have shown no positive results, with states fearing a loss of revenues. In the first six months of 2011-12, Jet Airways, Kingfisher and SpiceJet have lost nearly Rs 1,500 crore.

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