The government's recent decision to increase excise duty on domestic and international air tickets will have a serious negative impact on the aviation market, especially domestic passenger growth, said top officials of the country's air operators.
Apprehensions are now arising over the survival of airlines, as increases in fees or duties ultimately have a significant impact on the affordability of air tickets, they said.
On Thursday night, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) increased the excise duty on each domestic flight ticket from Tk 500 to Tk 700.
The excise duty on flight tickets to member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was raised from Tk 500 to Tk 1,000.
For trips outside SAARC countries but within Asia, the duty has been increased from Tk 2,000 to Tk 2,500.
The excise duty on tickets to Europe and America was raised from Tk 3,000 to Tk 4,000.
A senior official of the NBR stated that the government expects to collect an additional Tk 1,000 crore in revenue from the duty hike.
