Agartala, Nov 16: Tripura cabinet on Tuesday last decided to reduce 15% VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

Announcing the cabinet decision, Tripura Information and Cultural Affairs minister said that the council ministers decided to reduce the ATF charge from 16 to 1 percent.

In our neighbouring state West Bengal, the ATF charge is 25 percent and in Assam it is 23.65 percent.”

According to Chowdhury, the decision would incur loss of Rs. 1.67 crore per year but it will bring down the air ticket fare in different routes including Agartala-Kolkata and Agartala-Guwahati.

He said, the movement of flight is less in the states where the ATF charge is high (except international airports).

“In Tripura, the international airport will start functioning very soon and then the air service will be expanded with movement of international flights. As per 15 percent reduction in the ATF charge, the flight ticket price will come down,” Chowdhury told the media.