Five domestic airlines have been allowed to import aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said.
Those given permission to import ATF include Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet, IndiGo, Go Airlines and Air India, Singh said in a written reply to a question of BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy in Rajya Sabha. He said the validity of the import authorisation is for 18 months.
Kingfisher has been allowed to import five lakh kilolitres of ATF worth Rs 2,233 crore; SpiceJet 50,000 kilolitres worth Rs 235 crore; IndiGo 7.15 lakh kilolitres worth Rs 3,200 crore, Go Airlines two lakh kilolitres worth Rs 1,200 crore and Air India one lakh kilolitres worth Rs 503.93 million.
High taxes on ATF by the state, ranging from four per cent to 30 per cent, has been hitting the airlines hard as they have to spend more than 40 per cent of the operating cost on fuel.
They have been demanding reduction in sales taxes by the state government besides putting the ATF in declared goods category.
In reply to a separate question, Singh said that in 2010-11, only IndiGo, SpiceJet and Go Air had shown profit.
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