Local airliners urge govt to cut VAT on jet fuel
Friday, 13 June 2008
Local airliners demanded duty waiver on import of aircraft, spareparts and ancillary items, reduction of duty and VAT on jet fuel and withdrawal of international travel tax for travellers on local carriers for providing a boost to the aviation industry, reports UNB.
They made the plea Thursday in a meeting with special assistant to the chief adviser Mahbub Jamil at the Youth and Sports Ministry.
High officials from all five local airliners--Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, GMG Airlines, Best Air, United Airways and Aviana Airways--were present at the meeting. Civil Aviation and Tourism secretary Syed Mohammad Zobaer was also present.
The local airliners informed the special assistant, the aviation industry in Bangladesh is passing through a crucial state due to the astronomical price of jet fuel.'Jet-fuel prices in Bangladesh are 10-25 per cent higher compared to Malaysia, Thailand, and the Middle East. Bangladeshi airlines are competing with major airlines of these major regions. This puts all Bangladeshi airlines at a great cost disadvantage,' the coalition of air-service operators said in a letter to the special assistant.
In the letter the local airliners said that the only way the Bangladeshi airlines can survive is to be able to buy the jet fuel at an international price level, and that is possible by the government with a little reduction in VAT, taxes and the profit margins on the jet fuel.
As per official data, the government's cost for import of jet fuel is Tk 70-72 per litre. But the government increased the jet-fuel price from Tk 75 to Tk 95 per litre on June 3.
The import of aircraft, spares and ancillary items had been zero-rated till the 2006-07 fiscal year.
In the 2007-08 budget, the government imposed 10 per cent import duty on these items. But in the next fiscal budget the Finance Adviser has proposed it down at 3 per cent.
They made the plea Thursday in a meeting with special assistant to the chief adviser Mahbub Jamil at the Youth and Sports Ministry.
High officials from all five local airliners--Biman Bangladesh Airlines Limited, GMG Airlines, Best Air, United Airways and Aviana Airways--were present at the meeting. Civil Aviation and Tourism secretary Syed Mohammad Zobaer was also present.
The local airliners informed the special assistant, the aviation industry in Bangladesh is passing through a crucial state due to the astronomical price of jet fuel.'Jet-fuel prices in Bangladesh are 10-25 per cent higher compared to Malaysia, Thailand, and the Middle East. Bangladeshi airlines are competing with major airlines of these major regions. This puts all Bangladeshi airlines at a great cost disadvantage,' the coalition of air-service operators said in a letter to the special assistant.
In the letter the local airliners said that the only way the Bangladeshi airlines can survive is to be able to buy the jet fuel at an international price level, and that is possible by the government with a little reduction in VAT, taxes and the profit margins on the jet fuel.
As per official data, the government's cost for import of jet fuel is Tk 70-72 per litre. But the government increased the jet-fuel price from Tk 75 to Tk 95 per litre on June 3.
The import of aircraft, spares and ancillary items had been zero-rated till the 2006-07 fiscal year.
In the 2007-08 budget, the government imposed 10 per cent import duty on these items. But in the next fiscal budget the Finance Adviser has proposed it down at 3 per cent.