INDIA IATA NEWLY INTRODUCED WEEKLY SETTLEMENT PLAN INSTEAD OF EARLIER FORTNIGHTLY FOR AIRLINES PAYMENTS BETTER KNOWN AS BSP TO BE EFFECTIVE FROM 1ST JANUARY 2014 HAS BEEN STAYED BY THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA 7TH JANUARY 2014 The High Court of Karnataka today passed an interim order to the effect that the Billing and Settlement Plan should not be altered to the weekly settlement plan, but shall remain as it was on December 31, 2013. This information was provided by Iqbal Mulla, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI). International Air Transport Association (IATA), with effect from January 1, 2014, had decided to implement the weekly settlement system. According to Mulla, the interim order was passed by the High Court after hearing the arguments of TAAI and the counsel for IATA during the hearing of the writ petition (No. 38249 of 2013) filed by TAAI, challenging Resolution 818g. In its petition, TAAI had also sought for agents’ right to commission from airlines and strict implementation of the circular issued by the office of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on December 17, 2012, which stated that the commission/remuneration should be built in the tariff. Mulla stated that travel agents have been upset with IATA’s move to change from a fortnightly billing system to a weekly one, and TAAI had taken up the cause of the agents community to fight against the introduction of the weekly settlement system. “The implementation of the weekly settlement system is a major threat to the travel agents community. In the current scenario of economic slowdown and shrinking business, the implementation of the weekly settlement system would be a disaster for agents and may result in default in payments. The interim order has provided agents with a breather. We will also pursue agents’ right to commission and will, in collaboration with other travel trade associations, talk to airlines and press for a minimum of five per cent commission on the total airfare,” stated Mulla. The weekly settlement system, which was to be implemented from November 1, 2012, had been deferred to December 31, 2013. The resolution to maintain status quo and to retain the existing cycle of fortnightly payment till December 31, 2013, based on the recommendation of Agency Programme Joint Council (APJC) India, was adopted at the Passenger Agency (PA) Conference held in Abu Dhabi from October 14-16, 2012.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 03:12:48 +0000
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