Vijay Mallya's private Airbus A-319 to be auctioned again; 28% GST to be slapped on jet

Authorities will try to auction former liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s Airbus A-319, which remains parked at the Mumbai airport. It has been stuck there for many years now. For the purpose, the liquidator of Karnataka High Court has fixed a date and time for the online auction of the jet. As per the liquidator's direction, The Airbus A-319 jet, codenamed VT-VJM after Vijay Mallya, will be auctioned between June 28 and 29 - it will start at 2 pm and conclude at 2 pm the next day. 

The minimum bid value for the action has been kept around Rs 12 crore. The buyer will also have to pay an additional 28 per cent GST charge on the auction amount. In December 2013, the Kingfisher airlines jet was seized by the service tax department as the airliner was not paying its dues. However, efforts to sell the jet failed as it didn't receive a bid at the auction. 

Earlier, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the operator of the Mumbai airport, had filed a plea in the high court seeking the removal of the jet from the airport. In its plea, the operator informed the court that it is facing a space crunch issue at the airport and parking the jet at the airport not only leads to problems but also makes leads it to book losses in parking costs - this is a whopping Rs 13,000 to Rs 15,000 per hour. 

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About Vijay Mallya's Jet

The jet can accommodate 25 passengers plus 6 crew members. It has amenities like a bedroom, bathroom, bar and a conference area. At present, Mallya is absconding from the country. Several agencies like CBI, ED, SFIO are carrying out investigations against Mallya. Efforts are on to get him extradited from the UK too.