Need to bring aviation turbine fuel under GST: Hardeep Singh Puri

Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said that there is a need to bring 'aviation turbine fuel' under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Puri, who was speaking at 'Wings India 2020' event here, said: "We are at a point where we need to bring aviation turbine fuel under the GST. By and large, there is an acknowledgment from across states to make it happen."

He said 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 our growing emphasis on regional connectivity.

The minister said the current situation arising out of coronavirus is a challenge, especially for the civil aviation sector.

"It is personally being monitored and directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his office. Within hours of the first evidence becoming available, we had started screening passengers coming in from 12 most affected countries," he said.

"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," said Puri.

"We have screened 10,876 flights coming in from across the globe that includes 11,71,061 passengers, and 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," he added.

Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao 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. Maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) infrastructure have a huge potential for employment generation along with significant investments from overseas," he added.

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