Delhi. Recently, many passengers had to face a lot of problems due to cancellation of flights. But on Friday, Indigo Airlines reached the High Court and the matter was regarding the huge custom duty collected on re-imported aircraft. The ongoing dispute between Indigo Airlines and central government departments has now reached the Supreme Court.
What is Indigo’s argument in court?
In the petition, Indigo has alleged that the aircraft after going abroad are not considered re-imports into India, rather they should be kept in the category of aircraft returned after repair. As per rules, no additional custom duty is levied on such cases but the customs department wrongly implemented the rules and collected a duty of more than Rs 900 crore. Calling it wrong, the company has asked for a full refund.
When the judge said in the courtroom – I will not hear…
The initial hearing on Indigo’s petition was to be held on Wednesday, but as soon as the case was heard in the court, the judge recused himself from the hearing. Justice Shail Jain of Delhi High Court recused himself from hearing the case. The Justice called it a situation of conflict of interest and recused himself from the case on moral grounds. This is done in courts when a judge has direct or indirect connection with any party, so that there is no doubt on the decision. For this reason today’s hearing was postponed and now this matter will soon be sent to another bench.
Justice Shail Jain said that I will not hear this case, because my son is a pilot in Indigo.
What will happen in the Supreme Court now?
This matter will be listed before the new bench on the next date. An immediate hearing has been requested by Indigo, because the company says that due to such a huge amount being stuck, its operations are being affected. The Customs Department is also preparing to present its detailed stand in this matter.
Why is this a big issue?
This matter is important because almost all the big airlines operating in India send their planes abroad for heavy maintenance. If this attitude of the Customs Department continues, then there may be a big increase in the expenses of all the airlines in future. At the same time, if the decision comes in favor of IndiGo, it will set a big example for the aviation sector. Now all eyes are on when the new bench will start hearing the case and in which direction the court will take the stand on custom duty.
