Policy Buzz: Airport fee cut in the air

Fee cut in the air

How long will air travellers pay user development fee (UDF) at key airports like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad?

That a lot of investment has gone into building new airports at Bangalore, Hyderabad; and modernisation of Delhi as well Mumbai airports does not mean that passengers will continue to pay UDF forever. So the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) is getting the books of DIAL (which is upgrading Delhi airport) audited to see when the UDF can be disbanded.

KPMG and Engineers India are doing the audit and their report is expected to be with AERA soon. Interestingly, the move comes at a time when the swanky new terminal at Delhi airport, the largest and most expensive in India’s aviation history, is set to be unveiled.

Depending on how the Delhi airport audit goes, a similar exercise could happen at Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad also. While the companies concerned are watching the Delhi audit closely, passengers will also feel the impact of the AERA’s decision since it could set an important precedent for the other airports.

To each his space

For nearly a year, employers as well as employees have had a particularly bad time dealing with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation.

Last July, the department introduced drop boxes in all its offices for employers filing returns of their monthly provident fund dues or workers’ withdrawal requests. Though the idea was lifted from the banking industry, no receipts were issued. This meant employers had no proof of compliance and workers had no way to follow up PF withdrawal or transfer requests.

The system derailed an already crawling claim settlement process and left workers and companies hapless with many of their submissions to the PF office labelled ‘missing.’

The new Central PF commissioner Samirendra Chatterjee has asked for dismantling of the system and asked all branch offices to issue proper receipts for every document submitted by firms and workers. Last heard, senior officials who had mooted the idea to the PF boss at the time were trying to dissociate themselves from the move.