The capital's domestic airport is one of the busiest in the country with about 150 aircrafts either arriving or departing the Delhi airport or even using the airport as a transit point.
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has sought detailed information from all domestic airline companies –including government and private ones and helicopters –about the different expenditures incurred by them in their operation, as part of their efforts to check tax evasion.
The move to seek information from all scheduled and unscheduled airline companies spells fresh trouble for the cash-strapped aviation sector, given that it comes days after the Arvind Kejriwal government increased value added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by five per cent, totalling to 25 per cent, that might also increase air ticket prices.
The capital's domestic airport is one of the busiest in the country with about 150 aircrafts either arriving or departing the Delhi airport or even using the airport as a transit point.
According to sources, the trade and taxes department of the Delhi government has written to all airline companies asking for the number aircrafts and helicopters have been directly purchased or leased in the last four years, the price at which they have been bought and their sale price, if they have been sold off at all.
The government has also asked airline companies, including Air India, to furnish details of the maintenance contracts of the aircrafts, the names of the companies who have been given the contracts and the expenditure incurred by the companies for maintaining their aircrafts, in the last four years.
Other information sought by the government includes the price at which food items, drinks and other goods are sold onboard as well the price at which they are originally bought by the airline companies from different caterers.
"We will get to know if there has been any tax evasion, once we get all the details. Prima Facie, it looks like VAT is not being paid on the goods or food items which are sold to the passengers onboard," an official said.
"If there has been any evasion, a cumulative amount of the last six years could be recovered from the airline companies," the official added.
The current fleet size of Air India is the highest at present numbering 109. Private airline companies such as Jet Airways and Indigo have a fleet size of 106 and 96 respectively, even as the latter has placed an order of 250 Airbus A320neo aircrafts in August this year as part of its expansion plans.
The fleet size of other smaller operators such as Spicejet and GoAir are 32 and 19 respectively.
The move will specially affect those airline companies who registered offices are in Delhi.
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