Chennai Airport

Last week we mentioned how international flyers will have to pay GST for duty-free shopping at the Delhi Airport. The Authority For Advanced Ruling(AAR) had announced that ‘Duty-Free’ shops at Delhi airport will have to pay Goods and Services Tax(GST).

But it seems for now, prices of perfumes, chocolates and tobacco sold at duty-free shops in Kolkata and 16 other international airports in the country will not be increased.

Flyers purchase liquor, perfumes and tobacco at duty-free shops as they get international brands at prices that are 30-40% lower than the market. If the AAR’s decision is implemented, the price of goods other than liquor will go up by 9-14%.

Duty-Free shops were exempted from giving Central Sales Tax(CST) and Value Added Tax(VAT) prior to GST, as sales from such shops were considered as exports and beyond the custom’s limit. However, the Delhi branch of AAR has now ruled that duty-free shops are within the territory of India and hence, subject to CGST. GST rate on chocolates and perfumes is 18% and tobacco is 28%.

Here are a few facts on duty-free shops in India:

• Liquor sales account for 80% of the total sales at Duty-free shops in India.
• Chocolates account for 10% of the total sales followed by cigarettes and perfumes that split the rest.
• The duty-free market in India is valued at $200 million.
• Sales for duty-free stores at Kolkata airport is the sixth largest in India.

Retailers and owners of duty-free shops at the airport hope that the AAR’s decision is not implemented as there won’t be any difference between a duty-free shop and a store located outside the airport. Sales will reduce at duty-free shops, and it will make no sense for retailers to pay huge rentals to do business at the airport.

If you want to know more about ‘Duty-Free’ shops at your airport, simply download the AirWhizz App. Get information about places to shop and other services available at the airport for you on the move.

International passengers will now have to pay goods and services tax on things bought from ‘Duty-Free’ shops at the Delhi International Airport. According to the Authority for Advanced Ruling(AAR) duty-free outlets at the Delhi Airport are not ‘free from duties’ under the current Goods and Services Tax regime.

Duty-free shops were exempted from Central Sales Tax (CST) and Value Added Tax (VAT) as the sale from such shops were considered as exports and beyond the limits of customs in India.

The AAR in a recent ruling said that the sales of goods to international passengers from “Duty-Free” shops may be taking place beyond the limits of the customs under Integrated GST Act, however, these outlets are within the territory of India under the Central GST Act.

The ruling was given by the AAR based on an application filed by Rod Retail Pvt Ltd which runs a retail outlet at Terminal 3 (International Departure) of Delhi International Airport.

Here are the highlights of the ruling –

• The AAR said that, Rod Retail Private Ltd is within the territory of India under the Central GST Act,2017 and Customs Act, 1962
• The Retailer is not taking goods out of India and hence their supply cannot be called ‘export’ under Integrated GST Act,2017
• Accordingly, the shop is required to pay GST at the applicable rates

Many retailers and shop owners are not happy with this decision as they feel that ‘Duty-Free’ shops will no more be “free from duty”. This decision would bring duty-free shops at par with other shops located outside the airport even after paying a hefty rent to the airport authorities, offering no incentive for duty free shop owners.

If you want to know more about ‘Duty-Free’ shops at your airport, simply download the AirWhizz App. Get information about places to shop and other services available at the airport for you on the move.

The Bangalore Airport, commonly known as the Kempegowda International Airport, has been an example of India’s growing infrastructure excellence. In fact, it was awarded the “Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia” by SKYTRAX at the world airport awards in 2017.

To build on its reputation, the Bangalore airport has planned some interesting activities for you.

INDIA’S FIRST EVER RUNWAY RACE

Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will organise a race called ‘Runway 10K’ on May 8^th, 2018 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

People above the age of 18 years have been asked to register for the event, which is said to be the first of its kind race to be held on an airport runway in India.

100 participants will be selected to take part in the run, which will be held between 12.45 p.m. and 2.30 p.m.

The event has already received registrations from 400 participants. The last date for registration is April 30th, 2018.

There would be no change in flight plans or schedules due to the event because May 8^th falls on a Tuesday and the airport’s runway is incidentally closed every Tuesday between 12.30 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. for maintenance work.

People are looking forward to being associated with a run like this, because it has never happened before in India. This also gives KIA an opportunity to open up the airport to people other than airplane passengers as airports are restricted only to people who are travelling.

AIRPLANE SPOTTING AT THE AIRPORT

Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) will soon have a plane-spotting deck for the interested public.

For now, there is no permanent place for aircraft spotting. Interested people send an e-mail to airport officials and only after the permission is given, officials take them to suitable spots to watch the movement of flights. But in future, there are plans to set up a permanent plane-spotting deck, where people can watch airplanes.

Airplane spotters will need a valid government identity proof and will have to take permission for clicking photos and videos from airport officials to get access to the deck.

Aircraft spotting is a popular hobby amongst youngsters in European countries and airports like the Munich Airport have a dedicated spotting deck for passengers and visitors.

Bangalore based airplane spotters are looking forward to this idea being implemented and believe it’s a good initiative as several people are interested in watching airplanes and are inquisitive about how an aircraft lands and takes off. It is also a good opportunity for children to learn about how airplanes and airports function and will motivate them to become pilots in the future.

If you want to know more about the Bangalore airport, simply download the AirWhizz app. Get information on things to do at the Airport on your fingertips via the App itself and Fly Stress-Free!

In a bid to ease traffic jams near the Chennai airport, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will conduct a two-day trial of a new traffic pattern on Monday and Tuesday. There will be separate entry and exit points to the domestic and international terminals.

Passengers travelling to the Chennai airport on Monday and Tuesday afternoon, between 2 pm to 5 pm, will have to follow a new traffic route to reach the airport terminals.

The AAI wants to first try out a new traffic management system to handle airport traffic as a pilot and then implement it permanently if it is a success. A survey will be conducted during the trial period on the flow of vehicles.

This trial will help AAI understand how the traffic flow will work on the ground. The results of the survey will be analyzed to find out if any changes need to be done to the traffic pattern. The new traffic arrangement will be implemented in two weeks’ time if it’s a success.

Here are the changes that are going to be implemented for these 2 days –

• The vehicles that come to domestic and international terminals will enter the airport using two entries
• These entries will be routed via two new ramps that connect to the flyover in front of the terminals
• Cars picking up passengers at the domestic terminal need not drive past the international terminal to exit the airport
• An additional entry for the international terminal has been created for the vehicles coming from Tambaram.
• All vehicles queuing up to drive down the flyover will have separate exit routes
• AAI has set up new checkpoints at the three entry-exit points of the airport from GST Road
• The roads inside the airport campus have been filled up with markings to guide cars to the parking lots in front of the domestic and international arrival halls on the ground floor.

The move was part of the original airport expansion plan and the ramps that link the road to the flyover in front of the terminals were ready a few months ago, but AAI wanted to wait till the metro station was completed and train services started. They also waited for the new toll booths to be installed according to the new traffic plan.

These toll booths are essential as they monitor the time each vehicle takes to enter and exit the airport. If a vehicle spends over 12 minutes inside the airport premises, then a parking fee must be paid. AAI hopes that the new pattern of vehicle flow will help reduce the complaint of cab drivers that they are not able to exit from the airport campus in less than 10 minutes due to congestion.

The congestions at the Chennai airport was caused by the 20,000 to 30,000 cars that it received every day. Hopefully, this pilot run will help in easing the traffic and will reduce delays and congestions at the airport once it is implemented in the future.

If you are planning to fly to Dubai next summer, be prepared to pay more for your flight tickets. Authorities at various Dubai airports have asked Indian carriers to reduce their capacities by half. This is being done because of the runway closure for 45-days from April 16, 2019. As a result, the airfare to Dubai will go up next summer.

Indian carriers flying to Dubai account for about 65,000 seats a week. The CEO of Dubai Airport, Mr. Paul Griffiths has asked the Indian authorities to reduce this number to half in a letter written by him in February. Dubai airlines, Emirates and  Fly Dubai have also been asked to make reductions in their flights flying from India.

According to the letter, The Dubai airport authorities have asked Emirates and Fly Dubai to reduce their total operations by 33 percent and airlines flying to the airport on a regular basis to reduce their capacities by 50 percent. The letter, however, said that the 33% reduction by the Dubai based airlines will contribute to 55% of the airport’s total cuts.

This decision by the Dubai airport has been met with much criticism as Indian carriers feel that reductions in the number of seats is not equal and discriminatory. India has been generous to Dubai when it comes to bilateral traffic rights. According to officials working with Indian carriers, this situation is not new and airlines in India have faced this kind of treatment when they got the least desired slots during slot allocation in 2016.

Dubai airport officials, in March, had announced that the closure will happen from April 16th-May 30th next year because of maintenance work and installation of upgrades. Flights will be diverted to Al Maktoum International airport during this period. These upgrades are being done to increase the safety and capacity of the runway.