Thursday, January 29, 2015

Experts seek budgetary support for aviation sector

Mumbai:  Experts have asked the government to notify aviation turbine fuel as a declared good and lay a clear road map for sale of Air India among other measures to be considered in the forthcoming Union budget.

“The notification on declared good should be with immediate effect. It is much more prudent to generate tax from downstream goods and services than an industrial raw material (ATF). ATF in India is 55-60 per cent costlier than the Gulf and ASEAN region. The cascading effects of ATF taxes have brought ruin to the airline sector. ATF should have a uniform levy of 4 per cent across India,” said Amber Dubey, partner and India head of Aerospace and Defence, KPMG.

“The government should announce a clear road map for auction of Air India to the private sector. Else Air India will continue to bleed under increasing competition, falling market share and increasing costs. Low fare offers by the taxpayer-funded- airline distorts the market. The taxpayers’ funds should be used for development of the entire aviation sector and not just one player,” Mr. Dubey added.
29/01/15 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu
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