Levying GST on overseas air ticket weakens competitiveness of carriers:

Levying GST on overseas air tickets violates international norms and also weakens the competitiveness of carriers, IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac said Tuesday.

He also flagged various concerns about the Indian aviation sector, including high jet fuel prices, infrastructure woes and privatization of airports.

The International Airport Transport Association (IATA) is a grouping of more than 280 airlines. Air India, Jet Airways, and Vistara are also members.

Speaking at a conference here, de Juniac said goods and services tax (GST) on international air tickets violates International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) norms and also weakens the competitiveness of carriers.

The ICAO, part of the UN, is a global aviation body.

The GST rate is 5 percent and 12 percent of the economy and business class tickets, respectively.

The IATA's Director General and CEO also said that India's aviation sector is projected to see 500 million trips "to, from and within" by 2037.

India's civil aviation sector has recorded 50 months of double-digit growth and it can be "very easily maintain (that) for next 50 months, provided that all nuts and bolts are in place", Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)