Aircraft leasing in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) will not flourish unless Indian banks step up and participate in the process, said Kartik Dawar, deputy general manager (legal), Vistara, on Wednesday.
Indian airlines have a combined fleet of around 700 planes and over 85 per cent of them are on lease. A majority of lessors are based in Ireland due to its attractive tax policy and ease of doing business.
The Government of India and the Gujarat government have provided several incentives, such as tax holiday, no withholding tax on lease payments, and interest payments, for the aircraft leasing companies to set up shop in GIFT City, Dawar said during a panel discussion at a conference organised by aviation consultancy firm Ishka.
