Duty-free shop operator hits Customs roadblock

New Delhi: Duty-free shops at the Indira Gandhi International airport will now be run by a consortium of UK-based Alpha Airport Group (AAG) and Pantaloon Retail India Ltd.
However, the joint venture (JV) has run into procedural bottlenecks with the Customs refusing to grant it licence to operate a bonded warehouse.
The Customs licence is mandatory for carrying and storing foreign goods in the airport premises by a duty free shop.
The objections, sources said, have been raised following the JV's inability to get a clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
The AAG, which had FIPB nod to form a wholly owned subsidiary, needs to seek the investment board's permission to make downstream investments which do not come under the automatic route of the FDI policy, sources said.
18/02/07 Pradeep Thakur/Times of India

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Categories: airports feb 2007, foreign feb 2007