Aviation ministry has sent its Budget 2017 wishlist to Arun Jaitely. Here’s what they expect

The Civil Aviation Ministry, for the first time, got its Budget 2017 wishlist vetted by professionals and has sent its recommendations to Arun Jaitley-led Finance Ministry.

As a part of its wishlist, the aviation ministry has sought reduction in excise duty on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, from 14% to 8%.

"Excise duty was raised when crude prices were low. Now they are inching up and the government can easily cut excise duty, which will also help shield airlines from a hike in jet fuel prices,” a government official, who did not want to be named, told ET.

Rising fuel cost has been a major concern for the aviation sector.

“Any rise in price of fuel, which constitutes a large part of our cost, is a concern but we may not be impacted that much because the government was raising taxes when crude was falling. So, the full benefit of crude decline was never transferred to airlines, which can act as a shield for us,” SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh had said.

Other requests include keeping ATF in the GST ambit.