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Tourism businesses have long demanded that airlines refund the taxes passengers paid on unused non-refundable air tickets.

A similar demand has also been echoed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, which urged the National Board of Revenue and Bangladesh Bank to take necessary steps in this regard.

In a recent letter, the ministry urged the NBR to take necessary steps so that passengers who fail to travel after purchasing a non-refundable air ticket can get back the tax amounts they paid.

Passengers usually purchase both refundable and non-refundable air tickets for domestic and international air travel.

‘As per the refund policies of different airlines, passengers who fail to travel on the scheduled date and time are entitled to a partial refund in the case of refundable tickets, while no refund is allowed for non-refundable tickets,’ the letter added.

When a passenger does not travel after purchasing a ticket, the ticket remains unused.

In such cases, there is an obligation to refund the portion of the fare paid as taxes to the passenger or customer, the letter said.

‘It has been observed that airlines often do not refund the tax amount on unused non-refundable tickets, causing financial loss to passengers and giving rise to disputes between customers and travel agencies regarding refunds,’ the ministry said.

However, an airline official denied the allegations and said that they usually refund the tax amount to passengers upon request.

The letter stated that when travel does not occur, there is no scope for the tax amount to be deposited as government revenue.

To prevent revenue leakage, protect consumer rights, and resolve disputes between travel agencies and customers, it is necessary to establish a clear directive requiring airlines to refund the tax portion of unused non-refundable air tickets when passengers fail to travel, the letter added.

The ministry also urged the authorities to take appropriate measures and issue specific instructions to the airlines to ensure the refund of the tax amount paid by passengers for unused non-refundable tickets on both domestic and international routes.

ATAB leaders said that they have been working on the issues for a long time, but have yet to reach a solution.

Speaking to ¶¶Òõ¾«Æ·, Abdus Salam Aref, former president of the ATAB, said they had always urged the concerned authorities to recover the tax amount from non-refundable air tickets.

‘The airlines are reluctant in this regard. They have to take action as they don’t have any bindings to submit the taxed amounts to the state coffer against the unused tickets,’ he added.

He also said that if an airline sells around 1,000 tickets and 50 remain unused for various reasons, the company would recognise revenue only for the flown tickets.

When asked what NBR could do there, he said that NBR could ask companies to submit full lists of sold and flown tickets, and then instruct airlines to issue the taxed amount of non-refundable tickets to passengers.

An official of the NBR said they were working on the issues and trying to find a way to resolve them.

A senior official of US-Bangla Airlines said that they would refund the tax amount to passengers who miss a flight upon their claims for non-refundable tickets.

‘There might be any misunderstanding on the issues; we usually refund the taxed amount. If the passengers do not travel, then there is no reason for him to pay the tax,’ he added.