NCAA directs carriers to settle over N6b TSC debt
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed domestic airlines in the country to pay the five per cent Ticket, Charter and Cargo(TSC) sales charges they have collected in trust for the authority, which have accumulated to over N6 billion.
The TSC is normally collected for the agencies by the airlines in trust, to be remitted to government coffers in order to avoid collection before flight and creating confusion, delays and missed flights.
In line with the Civil Aviation Act 2006, the NCAA is saddled with the collection of five per cent sales charge on all tickets originating from Nigeria, including cargo operations and charter/contract flights.
The five per cent sales charge, after collection, is shared with other aviation agencies, namely: Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET), Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) and the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), as approved by the Civil Aviation Act 2006.
With the money amassing further, the NCAA have called on airlines to put plans in place to offsetting the debt that has been accumulated over the years stating that the debt is stunting the growth of the government agencies.
The statement issued in Lagos by the General Manager, Public Affairs of NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, at the weekend, stated that ”the authority noticed with serious concern the huge debts of airlines as a result of failure to settle promptly invoices as at when due. This poses serious financial challenges to the various parastatals that benefit from the five per cent Ticket, Charter and Cargo Sales Charges.
“Consequently, the authority would be pleased to see that the airlines put plans in place towards the full liquidation of all outstanding indebtedness. The settlement of those debts will go a long way in assisting authority fulfill its statutory obligations to the country and the world.”
According to him, the five per cent charge is also embedded in passengers’ fares, adding that airlines were supposed to collect from passengers and pay instantly to the NCAA.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the NCAA, Captain Usman Muhkar debunked insinuations that the five per cent TSC is being paid to the authority from the earnings of the airlines, with the carriers lamenting that it was adversely affecting their operations.
“This is absolutely false and a misrepresentation. The TSC is content charged in the ticket sold to passengers. The airlines role is to collect and remit to the regulatory authority.
“Let me again refer to Section 12 (1) of the Civil Aviation Act 2006, which says that there shall continue to be a 5 percent air ticket contract, charter and cargo sales charge to be collected by the airlines and paid over to the Authority.
“We thanked God for a safe operation in the outgoing year and we look forward to a safe and secured operation in the coming years. Safety is a collective responsibility and we appreciate the cooperation from all stake holders, particularly the airlines towards the safe operations in the outgoing year.”
“It is pertinent to point out that the Authority is fully committed to strict enforcement of compliance to safety Regulations in order to engender safe operations at all times,” he added.
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
1 Comments
what are you going to do to collect those funds from the airlines. we can’t have airlines holding the government money, while the government looks for funding to complete its mandate. it is time we start grounding airlines that fail to remit the funds. one plane by deadline delay.
We will review and take appropriate action.