Government needs to lower taxes on aviation sector: SpiceJet

Washington: Emphasising the need for a holistic approach, SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh has called for lowering of taxes on the aviation sector to make it more competitive as well as ensure that the costs are in line with the peers.

The Chairman and Managing Director of the budget carrier, which is expanding rapidly, also said that MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) is an area where India can be doing exceedingly well.

Singh said that civil aviation sector in India is highly taxed, which is a major stumbling block in making it globally competitive.

"I think (there is need for) lowering of taxes and looking at aviation in a holistic sense as a job creator, as something that connects India to itself and to the world.

It's important that we take a more holistic approach towards aviation," he said.

Singh was in Washington DC last week as part of a business delegation that accompanied Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

"What we have been asking for a very long time now is that the government should make Indian aviation competitive with its peers around the world. We should make sure that our costs are in line with our peers around the world," he said.

He noted that India is the only country which taxes aviation fuel at an average of about 35 per cent. Fuel is a major component of an airline's operational costs.

Since Indian carriers are seeing a much higher cost of operation, they are not competitive compared with others and that is one big issue, he added.