Will continue to work for reduction of state govt taxes on jet fuel: Scindia

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday vowed that he won’t rest until the burden of high taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) are lowered, even as most states have already moved to significantly reduce the value-added tax (VAT) under persuasion from the Central Government.

Scindia said that he was of a firm conviction that the role of the government should be to move away from being a regulator to a facilitator. He said that he was consistently following up on the issue of high rates of VAT with state chief ministers.

The efforts had resulted in 11 more states reducing VAT on ATF to between 1-4 per cent from a high range of 20-30 per cent when he took charge over six months ago, he said. As a result, 23 states were now charging significantly lower VAT on jet fuel.

“The task is not yet complete. I commit to you that I would not rest until we make that burden of the high level of VAT lower,” the minister said.

The aviation minister was addressing industry body ASSOCHAM’s 13th international conference on Civil Aviation in New Delhi.

Thanking the Chief Ministers of the states which have cut the VAT on jet fuel, Scindia said the leadership of those states including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and several union territories had taken a progressive stand on the issue.

Scindia also said that he has raised multiple other issues faced by the industry with the finance ministry, which is examining the same. “I am confident that we will be able to achieve solutions as we go along,” he asserted.

Depending on the airline and type of operations, the share of ATF in an Indian carrier’s total operating cost can range anywhere between 25 to 45 per cent. Following the rise in crude oil prices, the cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) has advanced 19 per cent to Rs 90,519 per kilolitre from Rs 76,062 per kilolitre on January 1.

Also Read: Russia-Ukraine war: Putin finds himself alone as criticism mounts  

Also Read: Guarantee your income, no matter what the circumstances