Wings India 2020: Need to bring ATF under GST, says Puri

Speaking at Wings India 2020, Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said that ATF needs to be brought under GST
Wings India 2020: Need to bring ATF under GST, says Puri

Hyderabad: Speaking at Wings India 2020 in Hyderabad, Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri said on Saturday that ATF (aviation turbine fuel) needs to be brought under GST (Goods and Services Tax). "We are at a point where we need to bring aviation turbine fuel under GST and by and large there is an acknowledgement from across states to make it happen," the minister said.

He said that the civil aviation industry has ushered in a new era of expansion, driven by factors such as Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs), modern airports, FDI in domestic airlines, advanced IT, and a growing emphasis on regional connectivity.

Puri at Wings India 2020: Coronavirus is a challenge

He further added that the current situation arising out of Coronavirus is a challenge, especially for the civil aviation sector. "It is personally being monitored and directed by the Prime Minister and his office. Within hours of the first evidence becoming available, we had started screening passengers coming in from 12 most-affected countries. We then increased it to include the screening of passengers coming in from any country across the world. Our airports constitute a benchmark for how airports should be running across the globe, especially the 30 airports where proper screening is already in place. We have screened 10,876 flights coming in from across the globe that includes 11,71,061 passengers, 3,225 of these passengers required further screening. I am sure that once people get the right perspective, know where we are, look at the recovering numbers, we will not only overcome this challenge but will see robust vibrant growth in the civil aviation sector."

'More room for growth in aviation and aerospace'

KT Rama Rao, Minister for Industries & Commerce, IT, Electronics & Communications and Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Government of Telangana, said that with respect to aviation and aerospace, there has been tremendous growth with further room to grow for us. "Our focus should be on skill development and MRO infrastructure and foreign investments. The MRO sector has a huge potential for employment generation, along with significant investments from overseas," Rao said at WINGS India 2020.

Four MoUs signed

Four MoUs were signed at WINGS India 2020 between various stakeholders in the presence of Puri. These include exchange of tri-partite MoU under MoCA Krishi UDAN Scheme by Ras-Al-Khaimah International Airport, GMR Hyderabad International Airport, and SpiceJet Ltd, another was signed between the government of Telangana, GMR Hyderabad International Airport and Airbus BizLabs, a third was inked by the government of Telangana and DJI and the fourth one was signed between the government of Telangana, Asia Pacific FTO and Marut Drones.

Figure-speak

India's domestic traffic has grown 14 times in the last 18 years. Total traffic has grown 8.2X, including international traffic. The future of the industry, in terms of connectivity, is promising, increasing connectivity through UDAN has helped the per capita trips to rise from 0.1 per person to 0.5 per person, said an official release from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

According to a FICCI study, every minute an aircraft lands or takes off and. By 2040, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, along with FICCI, has set a vision to ensure 100 percent of aircraft have parts or manufacturing components from India, it added.

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