Ex excise duty slashed on aviation fuel

The prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel ATF or jet fuel sold to airlines have been revised and will be effective from today. The price of the ATF has been slashed by Rs 3,302. 79 kL or $817.37 kL in Delhi. The fuel for aviation turbines is selling for 75,944. In Mumbai, 70 kL is available or $811.12 kL. According to Indian Oil Corporation IOC, 23 kL or $811.54 kL in Chennai have fallen in prices because several states have cut the excise duty on aviation fuel after requests from the Central government have been cited as the ATF accounts for a major part of the airline's operational costs. The current tax structure on the ATF makes it impossible to have a robust civil aviation sector. The Minister for Civil Aviation of the Union, Jyotiraditya Scindia, said he was very clear on that.

Madhya Pradesh has slashed excise duty on ATF to 4 per cent at Bhopal and Indore airports whereas Tripura and Haryana have reduced the tax levied on ATF to 1 per cent. Other states to slash excise duty on ATF are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The government's revenue from collection of central excise duty on manufacturing of various petroleum products in the country went up by 26.5 percent to Rs 1,99, 416 crore in the first half of the current financial year. During this period, the prices of petroleum products in the country were at high levels.

The revenue of Central Excise on Aviation Turbine Fuel ATF went from Rs 183.22 crore to Rs 684.32 crore between April and September, according to Neemuch-based RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaur. Excise duty collected on petrol and diesel rose to Rs 1,33, 455.34 crore and Rs 58,012. The excise duty collected on crude oil had a revenue of 81 crore and the revenues of excise duty on crude oil reached 6,377. In the period under review, 65 crore were under review.