The Hindu : Kerala News : Airport board to discuss issue of users’ fee

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Kerala

Airport board to discuss issue of users’ fee

A Correspondent

Board meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on January 27

Airport was charging users’ fee of Rs. 500 till 2006
Shareholders divided on the issue

Nedumbassery: Re-introduction of users’ fee for international passengers at the Cochin airport is expected to be the focal point of discussion at the next director board meeting of the airport company, scheduled to be held in Thiruvanathapuram on January 27.

The issue, on which the board is tasked with taking a decision at its next meeting, has been triggering heated arguments among the share holders during the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of the company in the past couple of years. It was the company chairman and Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, who asked the director board to take a decision on the issue, after the AGM held last month failed to reach a consensus.The airport, since its inception, has been charging a users’ fee at the rate of Rs. 500 from all departing international passengers.

The fee was shelved by the previous United Democratic Front government from January 2006. Since then, the company shareholders have been divided into two groups of those favouring its re-introduction and those opposing the move.

Notice served

Meanwhile, sources in the Customs department said another issue that is likely to come up for discussion at the director board meeting was a notice reportedly served by the Customs on the airport company to pay Rs. 5 crore as fine and penalty for giving away to a third party the right to sell gold in the duty free shops. They said it was only the duty free shop of the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) that possessed the right to sell gold from the Mineral and Metal Trading Corporation (MMTC) and not any outside agency.

This issue has also delayed the launching of the duty free shops proposed in the new international departure terminal as the Customs department has asked the CIAL to give a guarantee that the right to sell gold in the new shops would not be passed on to any outside agency. In the last fiscal, the airport company levied Rs. 29 lakh as royalty from the Atlas Group that has been running a jewellery shop in the international arrival hall.

However, Cochin International airport officials denied the reports, saying no such incident had come to their attention.

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