All airlines flying to and from India will soon have to compulsorily submit passenger records to the government a few days in advance of every flight departure or arrival, according to an amendment to the country’s customs law proposed in the Finance Bill of 2017 tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
Airlines will be fined ₹50,000 for not submitting the information on time, as per the proposal to insert a new Section 30A and 41A in the Customs Act, 1962, to make it “obligatory” for airlines to give “passenger and crew arrival manifest” and “passenger name record (PNR) information” to the customs authority before arrival or departure of the flight to, or from India.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs would be authorised to decide the kind of passenger information that needs to be submitted by the airlines.
At present, airlines are required to submit basic details of passengers such as their name, date of birth, nationality, among other things to customs authority. The final passenger information has to be submitted 15 minutes before the flight takes off.
With this move, India will join a select international league of 15 countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, which ask airlines to submit PNR details of passengers to government authorities. This is also a subject of a new European Union Regulation and most EU states are planning to introduce PNR requirements.
Even Indian airlines are required to submit the PNR data of passengers to such countries typically three days before the flight, up until the day of travel.
IATA’s appeal
Global airline body International Air Transport Association (IATA) has asked the government to hold consultations with the airlines and follow United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation Standards and Guidelines on PNR data. The PNR data is extracted from travelers’ bookings and includes information about the person’s itinerary, travel arrangements and payment details.“The Indian government should consult with the airline industry along the various steps of implementation, and consider a phased introduction. Authorities should also bear in mind that PNR data is not verified and may include very little data, depending on how much was provided by the passenger at the time of booking,” Nathalie Herbelles, Assistant Director, Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security, Asia Pacific at IATA told The Hindu .“PNR data is collected for business purposes and may include sensitive personal data such as meal preferences and credit card information. Legal frameworks such as the EU’s have strong limitations as to whether or how sensitive data may be collected, stored and shared,” Ms. Herbelles said.
India may have to sign a bilateral agreement with the EU that doesn’t authorise transfer of PNR data to non-EU countries. Since 2006, the EU has signed bilateral agreement to share PNR details with the US, Canada and Australia to allow transit of PNR data to these foreign authorities.
