The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has given December 31, 2018 deadline to all the foreign airlines that have yet to automate their remittance of its 5 per cent Ticket Sales Charge/Cargo Sales Charge (TSC/CSC).
The General Manager, Public Relations, NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, who confirmed the development on Thursday in Lagos said that defaulting airlines would face severe sanctions.
Adurogboye said a letter to that effect, signed on behalf of the Director General of NCAA, Captain Muktar Usman, by the Director of Air Transport Regulation, Group Capt Edem Oyo-Ita, had been dispatched to the 30 airlines concerned.
According to him, the airlines include Lufthansa German Airlines and all African countries’ carriers operating in Nigeria under the existing Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA).
He said the ultimatum was necessitated by the refusal of the defaulters to comply with the Federal Government’s directives on Aviation Revenue Automation Project (ARAP) and abide by the provisions in the BASA between Nigeria and their respective countries.
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Adurogboye said the automation was in line with Part 18.12.5 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (NCARs), 2015.
“It states that all domestic and international airlines operating in Nigeria shall forward to the authority, through an electronic platform provided by the authority, all relevant documents such as flown coupons, passenger or cargo manifest, air waybills, load sheets, clients’ service invoices and other documents necessary for accurate billing within 48 hours after each flight.
“In the same vein, Part V, Section 12(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 2006 states that the 5 per cent TSC/CSC are to be collected from passengers by airlines and paid to NCAA.
“These collections, which are shared among the agencies, are meant for the maintenance of safety critical, provisions of infrastructure and for meeting their numerous obligations,” he said in a statement.
Adurogboye explained that the government introduced the ARAP for revenue collection to engender data integrity, transparency, transaction accountability and control of revenue to the authority in 2011, which was at no cost to airline operators.
He also disclosed that there had been appreciable and commendable high level of compliance by domestic airlines, which stood at 97 per cent of the current domestic air transport operations.
Adurogboye said the DG appealed to other domestic airlines that are yet to join to take steps and come on the platform by working with First Bank of Nigeria (FBN)/Avitech for immediate and automatic processing and implementation of the project or face sanction.
He reaffirmed NCAA’s commitment to enforcement of compliance to safety regulations at all times so as to continue to guarantee safer skies in Nigeria.