Jet Airways had acquired Sahara Airlines from the Sahara group last year and rebranded it JetLite

Jet Airways (India) Ltd on Wednesday confirmed a Mint Page 1 story published on 17 June that its low-fare subsidiary, JetLite (India) Ltd, has been asked to appear before the government for non-payment of Rs100 crore in service tax.

In a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Jet Airways said: The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence is conducting an investigation into the alleged non-payment of service tax by Sahara Airlines Ltd. Jet Airways had acquired Sahara Airlines from the Sahara group last year and rebranded it JetLite.

The inquiry relates to a period(s) prior to the acquisition of Sahara Airlines Ltd by Jet Airways (India) Ltd on April 20, 2007, the statement said, adding that the liability, if any, for the tax demands rests with the earlier owners of Sahara Airlines.

Kingfisher-Deccan merger gets HC nod

The Karnataka High Court has given the nod for the Kingfisher Airlines-Deccan Aviation merger, according to a spokesman for Kingfisher. The judge has pronounced his order sanctioning the scheme, orally in the court, on Monday June 16, he said. Deccan Aviation is in the process of merging the scheduled airline operations of unlisted Kingfisher Airlines, to create one of the biggest air carriers in the country and pave the way for the latter to fly overseas.

Indias aviation ministry has recommended that carriers, including Go Airlines (India) Pvt. Ltd, IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd, should be allowed to fly overseas without having to complete five years of domestic services. This is part of the civil aviation policy thats being considered by a panel of ministers, said Maushumi Chakravarty, a spokeswoman of the aviation ministry. The cabinet has to take a decision on this, she said.

India currently stipulates that local airlines must fly five years in the domestic market before getting a licence to start overseas services.

UBI plans to Raise $2 bn in overseas debt

State-run lender Union Bank of India plans to raise as much as $2 billion, or Rs8,580 crore, by selling medium-term notes to overseas investors. The bank has filed documents with the Singapore Stock Exchange for the planned sale, according to a statement sent to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The debt will be sold in phases, the bank said.

Andhra Bank to raise $125 million

State-run Andhra Bank plans to raise up to $125 million through foreign currency loans in a couple of weeks, its top official said on Wednesday. The bank is looking at a 20-22% growth in loans and deposits in 2008/09, chairman and managing director K. Ramakrishnan said on the sidelines of an industry conference. We need to go to the market to meet obligations of high-cost deposits raised last year, he said. The bank has available limit to raise up to $300 million through foreign currency loans, he said.