New Delhi, December 30: The Ministry of Civil Aviation has requested the Finance Ministry to include the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) in the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This has been conveyed to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.

The ministry had suggested that the aviation fuel for small aircrafts including freighter aircrafts (maximum take-off weight of less than 40 tonnes) should lie under the 5% GST slab, according to a report tabled by the Committee in the Rajya Sabha. "It further recommended that the ATF should be under 18% slab for the larger aircrafts including the freighters. With this, the ATF would be at par with the AvGas," the report said. Tripura Reduces VAT on Jet Fuel to Incentivise Airline Operations.

The Committee had sought a reply from the Ministry of Civil Aviation after it noticed that airlines were facing a major issue because of the high cost of the ATF. The committee had noticed that the ATF which is already available at a huge price was being further aggravated due to the taxation policies. This was affecting the financial liability of the airlines.

In the reply, the Civil Aviation Ministry had also urged the state governments to back its demand for bringing ATF under the slab of the Goods and Services Tax.