New Delhi: Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and top officials of his ministry on Wednesday sought to downplay the impact of the proposed six per cent hike in excise duty on ATF in the Budget by pointing out that it should be seen in the backdrop of a 35 per cent fall in ATF prices over the past one year.
The ministry said that the government had decided to “mop up” additional excise duty, with Mr Raju saying, “I can’t say it is a setback.” The ministry also pointed out that the excise duty hike would not be applicable on flights operating under the regional connectivity scheme. The excise duty hike on ATF will lead to higher air-fares as ATF accounts for about 45 per cent operating cost of airlines. In an important announcement, Mr Raju also said that a second airport for the Delh-NCR region would be required by 2022-23 as the IGI airport with its current capacity is expected to get saturated by air-traffic by then.
03/03/16 Asian Age
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The ministry said that the government had decided to “mop up” additional excise duty, with Mr Raju saying, “I can’t say it is a setback.” The ministry also pointed out that the excise duty hike would not be applicable on flights operating under the regional connectivity scheme. The excise duty hike on ATF will lead to higher air-fares as ATF accounts for about 45 per cent operating cost of airlines. In an important announcement, Mr Raju also said that a second airport for the Delh-NCR region would be required by 2022-23 as the IGI airport with its current capacity is expected to get saturated by air-traffic by then.
03/03/16 Asian Age
