PASSENGERS FLYING TO DELHI TO PAY TAX

NEW DELHI, March 3 (Bernama) -- Travellers descending at the modernised
Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) need to pay extra, as the government
has allowed the private airport developer to impose a development levy.

With effect from yesterday (March 1), every departing international
passengers need to pay extra of 1,300 rupees while for domestic
travellers, the levy was fixed at 200 rupees.

The government had permitted Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL),
involved in modernising the airport, to impose the levy for 36 months, to
extract additional funds for the project.

In a statement Monday, the Civil Aviation Ministry said, to obviate
inconvenience to the passengers and for smooth airport operations, the
government had directed all airlines to collect the fee from passengers when
air tickets were issued and remit the amount to DIAL.

DIAL is a joint venture consortium of GMR Group (50.1 percent), Airports
Authority of India (26 percent), Fraport (Frankfurt Airport) & Eraman Malaysia,
retail subsidiary of Malaysia Airports (10 percent each), and India Development
Fund (3.9 percent).

About 300 planes land in Delhi daily and between 2007 and 2008 the airport
handled 24 million passengers, making it one of the two most busiest airports in
India, along Mumbai.

The government has also allowed the Mumbai International Airport to impose a
similar development levy of 600 rupees for international passengers
leaving the city and 100 rupees for domestic travellers.

This will take effect from April 1 for a period of 48 months.
-- BERNAMA