New Delhi:
Airport developers must now get clearance from the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority before charging an Airport Development Fee (ADF).
The Supreme Court today quashed the earlier High court order which allowed airport developers to charge Airport Development Fee at the Mumbai Airport. It, however, allowed the levy of ADF at Delhi to continue.
The court held that the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) had the authority to allow private-led Delhi and Mumbai airports to collect the fee.
A bench of Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik also held that while AERA had permitted Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) to continue to levy the ADF through a public notice in April 2010, no such notice was issued by it in respect of Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL). "Hence MIAL could not continue to levy and collect development fee at major airport at Mumbai and "cannot do so in future unless the Regulatory Authority passes an appropriate order....", the bench said while setting aside an earlier order of the Delhi High Court.
The court was hearing a petition by some NGOs, including Consumer Online Foundation, who had contended that the fee was illegal. The apex court observed that since the passengers from whom the ADF was collected so far "cannot now be identified nor can they be traced for making the refund", and also that there was no refund claims, the money should be used for development of airports only.
According to rough estimates, GMR-led DIAL has collected about Rs 1,200 crore till 2010 through the ADF and the GVK-led MIAL collected Rs 1,300 crore. The ADF was being charged from air passengers at Delhi from March 2009 and at Mumbai from April 2009.
The court said that after January 2009 when AERA was notified, ADF was not valid till the regulator had approved it.
In 2009, the High Court had upheld Rs 200 as ADF for domestic travel and Rs 1,300 for international trip from those departing Delhi and Rs 100 and Rs 600 respectively for those from Mumbai airports.
When contacted for their reaction to the order, a MIAL spokesman said "we have stopped charging the ADF after the Supreme Court verdict as we have not secured the appropriate permission from the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority as ordered by the apex court. Till we get that, we will not charge the development fee".
In a statement, a DIAL spokesperson claimed the Supreme Court "has allowed DIAL to continue to charge ADF as per the approval granted to DIAL by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority."
"DIAL shall not be obliged to refund any amounts collected by it prior to the approval granted by AERA", the spokesperson said, adding that the court has directed that the utilisation of the ADF recovered by DIAL shall be only for the purposes of development of the Delhi Airport.
(
With PTI Inputs)