September 4, 2025

Big news from the GST Council! Late Wednesday, they announced exciting changes that will shake up the aviation world. Tax on unmanned aircraft, also known as drones, has been slashed from a sky-high 28% or 18% down to just 5%! This cool cut means using drones for delivery, farming, and mapping will now be cheaper and easier for everyone. Even better, flight and target motion simulators — the super important machines for pilot training — are now exempt from IGST. This means airlines and flying schools can invest in new training gear without shelling out big taxes. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explained the big picture at a press conference: "The reforms have been carried out with a focus on the common man. Every tax levied on common man's daily-use items have gone through a rigorous fitting into and in most cases, the rates have come down drastically." But wait, not everything is smooth flying. Passengers in the front seats — the fancy non-economy class travelers — will face a hike. GST on these premium tickets jumps from 12% to 18%! Even though premium seats make up only 8-10% of the aircraft, they bring a big chunk of revenue to airlines. So, carriers are likely to pass these extra taxes straight to your wallet. These twin moves send a clear message: the GST Council wants to fuel new tech and better pilot training, but also tighten taxes on luxury flying. So, while drones and simulators get a tax-friendly boost, premium flyers should gear up for a fare bump!

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Tags: Gst rate cut, Drones, Flight simulators, Aviation training, Airline fares, Tax reforms,