New Delhi: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), under the ministry of commerce and industry, is not keen on relaxing the norms to import aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by Kingfisher Airlines, before it examines the issue properly.
The Director General of foreign trade Anup K Pujari has denied receiving any formal request, even as the airlines’ boss Vijay Mallya earlier said he has approached the government to directly import ATF or jet fuel.
“The proposal has not yet reached me … DGFT has the power to relax the norms, provided certain stringent conditions are met as laid out in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), which categorically mentions there has to be a genuine damage in the event of which this relaxation can be given,” Pujari told Business Standard.
He said once they examine the issue, it would be taken up by the Policy Relaxation Committee (PRC) under his chairmanship, which will then give the go-ahead.
The FTP of 2009-2014, stipulates that import of ATF will be allowed through a particular state trading enterprise (STE) and in India it is only the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) that can import jet fuel. Hence, if Kingfisher Airlines is allowed to import ATF directly, it would have to obtain STE status.
“I have to understand why a particular company wants to become a STE. Importing it directly would definitely save some costs, but the company has to prove it. After proper consultation and examination, we would be able to give any relaxation, else other companies might also request the same,” he said.
18/11/11 Nayanima Basu & Mihir Mishra/Business Standard
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