Jayalalithaa joins Mamata Banerjee over 'arbitrary' action in reducing Central Sales Tax

April 14, 2012

Chennai, April 14: Joining her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa today attacked the Centre for its "arbitrary" action in reducing Central Sales Tax (CST) compensation to states by linking it with VAT rate revision.

Though the Centre had agreed to compensate states for the revenue loss for 2010-11 also, the eligible compensation was "arbitrarily restricted" by deducting additional revenue realised through revision of VAT rate from four to five per cent, she said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I would like to point out that the action of the Government of India in linking CST compensation with the additional revenue on account of VAT rate revision is unilateral, arbitrary and untenable. There is no link between CST rate reduction and VAT rate enhancement. It was never a part of the guidelines for CST compensation," she said.

Mamata had shot off a letter to Singh on Wednesday protesting the Centre's "unilateral decision" not to pay CST compensation to states for 2011-12.

The decision to stop CST compensation for 2011-12 "is equally objectionable", Jayalalithaa said, adding the CST rate was reduced only as a precursor to the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST).

"Since it is the government of India's responsibility to introduce GST by evolving a consensus and by putting in place appropriate mechanisms, the States cannot be expected to bear the loss on account of its failure to introduce GST. The Government of India has a moral responsibility to compensate the States till GST is introduced," she said.

Non-implementation of GST from April 1, 2010, should not be taken as ground to stop CST compensation and the Centre has to provide compensation till GST is introduced as revenue loss suffered by states is substantial and permanent, she said.

The chief minister said though the Centre had agreed to compensate states for revenue loss for 2010-11 also, the eligible compensation for 2010-11 was "arbitrarily" restricted by deducting additional revenue realised through revision of Value Added Tax rate from four per cent to five per cent.

" ... the action of the Government of India in linking CST compensation with the additional revenue on account of VAT rate revision is unilateral, arbitrary and untenable. There is no link between CST rate reduction and VAT rate enhancement. It was never a part of the guidelines for CST compensation," Jayalalithaa said.

Secondly, she said, the decision to stop CST compensation from 2011-12 is "equally objectionable".

Noting that states like Tamil Nadu suffer huge revenue loss on account of CST rate reduction, Jayalalithaa said Tamil Nadu could have realised an additional revenue of Rs 2,000 crore between 2007-08 and 2010-11, even after taking into account the Centre's compensation.

This tax loss pushed back the revenue base to a lower level and the state continues to suffer incremental revenue loss which is in the range of Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore per annum in the next three years, she said.

"I must also point out that such unilateral and unreasonable actions by the Government of India do not augur well for fostering a spirit of cooperative federalism especially at a time when the Government of India is trying to build a consensus among the states for GST," she said.

She said revision of VAT rate from four per cent to five per cent should not be linked to the CST compensation for 2010-11 as it was not part of the original compensation package and the VAT revision had nothing to do with the CST.

"If further delay is expected in implementing GST, then the CST rate must be restored immediately to the original four per cent," Jayalalithaa said.

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Chaos continues as IndiGo cancels more flights including 73 from Bengaluru airport

News Network

December 4,2025

Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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