In order to support the New Logistics Policy (NLP), the industry expected the government to extend the Goods and Service Tax (GST) freight exemption notification. However, this has not happened,” said Vipin Vohra, Chairman, Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd. “We genuinly think that this will have a significant financial impact on the freight industry. This move will increase the freight cost and create unnecessary burden on exporter. It is unclear how this action can push the goal of the Commerce Ministry, which introduced NLP with the sole aim of reducing logistics costs and wants every district to identify and encourage export of atleast one product. Also, our industry is still struggling to make a comeback post pandemic and unnatural crisis like Ukraine Russia war. Now onwards, logistics companies will have no choice but to levy 18 per cent GST on air freight and 5 per cent on ocean freight from October 1, 2022 onwards till the notification is issued. I wish there was no GST on export freight and freight forwarding in India, as it is in the majority of other countries,” he added.

Georgia-based cargo airline Geo Sky is growing its freighter fleet with a Boeing B757-200F. The B757-200F recently arrived at Tbilisi International Airport and has been added to the Civil Aircraft Register of the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency, said Geosky in a press release. Aircraft Finance Germany also posted on LinkedIn: “On 28 September 2022 AFG Aviation Ireland Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aircraft Finance Germany GmbH (Germany), completed the acquisition of one (1) Boeing 757-200F aircraft bearing MSN 25622 as well as one (1) Rolls-Royce RB211 engine with ESN 30512 from a subsidiary of ASL Aviation Holdings DAC (Ireland) for its customer Airline Geo Sky LLC (Tbilisi, Georgia).” The company said Geosky, founded in 2017, currently operates two B747-200F aircraft. The airline added that it has started the paperwork to get an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) for the aircraft, with a payload of 29 tons, so it can begin operations.

Budapest Airport is continuing to develop its Cargo City area with the addition of new cargo areas. The airport will extend its cargo area with a further 2,000 sq m of office space on the mezzanine level, and 6,000 sq m of maneuvering and storage areas alongside a 1,450 sq m multi-functional canopy area created for live animal treatment. Work is due to start later this month. The expansion will allow Budapest to handle 240,000 tonnes at the Cargo City with an additional 60,000 tonnes being served via the integrator facilities of DHL, UPS, and FedEx at Terminal one. René Droese, chief development officer, Budapest Airport, said, “Budapest Airport is committed to cargo development. Seeing the rapid increase of our cargo volumes after the initial investment of the BUD Cargo City, this next step has been an obvious choice to enable our growth and progression.

According to the latest figures from the Baltic Exchange Airfreight Index (BAI), airfreight rates on key trade lanes out of Asia continued to weaken in September despite the industry heading towards the peak season. The latest figures show that in September rates from Hong Kong to North America declined by 18.5% compared with a year ago to $7.94 per kg and are also down on the $8.33 per kg achieved in August. The declines are noteworthy for two reasons, firstly rates on the trade lane tend to increase from August to September and secondly it is only the second time since February 2020 that prices on the trade have registered a year-on-year decline. Meanwhile, average prices from Hong Kong to Europe stood at $6.09 per kg in September, which is down on the $6.34 per kg registered in August but remains 9.3% ahead of the year-ago level. Rates on this lane also tend to increase between August and September. The falls come as bellyhold capacity continues to return to the Hong Kong market as Covid restrictions are eased and the air cargo outlook remains cloudy, suggest reports.

Air cargo stakeholders have appealed for extension of GST exemption notification. The GST exemption was valid till 30 September. “With effect from 1 October, there will be an additional upfront of 18 per cent of GST payable on export freight with the facility for input credit. While Commerce ministry wants every district to identify and promote exports of at least one product. Even for the GST registered, this increase its compliance cost as full input credit is permitted, which shall not fetch any extra revenue to the government but increase the compliance cost to tax assesses. Internationally, all export-related charges are Zero rated, except in Indi where the increase in logistics cost increase the cost further,” said J Krishnan, former ACAAI President and Board of Advisors. M Afzal Malbarwala, President, ACAAI sharing his views said, “It will affect us and exporters business. The cash flow will be the biggest hurdle. Every exporter must have made huge investments since all importers are asking for credit and to keep up business and to compete with other countries our exporters must do. On top of it, the rule seriously affects exports. The government wants to promote exports and has launched new NLP which was accepted by all and now a big blow. Anywhere in the world there is no GST on exports and related. The sea freight which is not even 1/3rd cost of airfreight there is no GST then why for air. Air imports have no GST, but sea imports GST have 5 per cent only. We request the government to seriously rethink and charge GST @ 0 per cent, which is the norm in sea and air.”

Allcargo Group has launched Logistics Park in Malur, Karnataka. The state-of-the-art logistics and warehousing park is now fully occupied, further accelerating economic growth and infrastructure development in Karnataka. With this park, Allcargo will further complement Karnataka to become a logistics hub that seamlessly connects India to the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, making the state a desired destination for big businesses. The park is creating employment opportunities directly on-site, by creating over 5500 jobs. The park will also act as a strategic warehousing destination, thanks to the increasing interest of businesses in Karnataka. The government’s National Logistics policy and the PM Gati Shakti plan has been looking to solidify first and last mile connectivity, both for commercial and other purposes. This gives a boost to Karnataka as a desired business hub, and Allcargo’s logistics park can provide businesses with the right infrastructure and digital tools to make their business profitable and transform their supply chain. Furthermore, it can connect businesses to the rest of India with increasing ease.

Air Canada Cargo is all set to launch five times a week B767 freighter service from St. John’s (YYT) to Frankfurt and Madrid. Effective October 1, there will be two non-stop flights per week to Frankfurt and three non-stop weekly flights to Madrid. Air Canada Cargo is the only carrier with a scheduled cargo service from St. John’s to Europe, supporting Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy. These new flights complement Air Canada Cargo services to Halifax, strengthening the carrier’s freighter network, connecting Atlantic Canada globally.

Saudia Cargo has collaborated with IATA for its Center of Excellence for Independent Validators for Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) Certification for safe air transport and handling of pharma shipments. Teddy Zebitz, Saudia Cargo CEO and Frederic Leger, IATA Senior VP Commercial Products and Services, signed the agreement at the recently concluded IATA World Cargo Symposium in London. For the next few months, Saudia Cargo will prepare across multiple aspects of its operations, particularly on staff competency to handle pharma, comply with IATA’s requirements for CEIV Pharma Certification on top of Good Distribution Practices, stated the release. The process is meant to ensure critical healthcare cargo such as COVID vaccines and other pharma and bioscience products are not compromised while they transported by air.

To address issues related to expanding air cargo options and block space agreements, and pending regulatory approvals, Emirates SkyCargo and United Cargo signed an agreement at the recently concluded IATA World Cargo Symposium. The MoU will build on existing cargo interline arrangements between both air cargo operators and offer freight customers access to more capacity on a larger combined global network. United Cargo, which last year had decided against entering the freighter market, will now have access to Emirates SkyCargo’s high frequency distribution network through to over 100 global destinations by 11 B777-F freighters, stated the release. Emirates SkyCargo will have access to over 200 cities in the USA and 300 cities across five continents through United Cargo. The agreement was signed by Nabil Sultan, Emirates divisional senior vice president, cargo, and Jan Krems, president, United Cargo.

Chetak Group has inaugurated its first Green warehouse in Pune. The warehouse, which adds to the over two million warehousing capacity, was inaugurated by Chetak Group’s Directors Mukesh and Rajesh Haritash, in the presence of guests from Tata Motors and other prominent clients. The warehouse will serve all vendors of Tata Motors. Mukesh Haritash, Director, Chetak Logistics said, “We are happy to inaugurate first Green and Happy Warehouse in Pune. This is a result of the inspiration we derived from our father, late Jai Karan Sharma, Founder, Chetak Group. We dedicate the warehouse to him and pledge to take forward his vision of serving the customers with the quality product offerings. The warehouse, measuring one lakh sq. ft., adds to 2 million sq. ft., warehousing space offered by the Chetak Group across India.” The new Green warehouse at Pune offers many firsts such as solar power energy, environmentally friendly last mile delivery, unique facilities for employees, safety measures and smart material handling.