4PAM president Ajit Johl asked how Mavcom had arrived at a stage where it needed to tax users in order to fund its operations.
“What has happened to the revenue that it has collected from the Air Service Licence, Air Service Permit, Aerodrome Operator Licence and Ground Handling Licence?” he said in a statement.
“Mavcom must explain to users, how does the PSC translate into facilities improvement? How do users get refunds for journeys not performed?
“If a ticket is bought in January for a travel period in December, who becomes the legal custodian of the PSC and in whose accounts are the PSC funds kept?
“How much initial funding was allocated, and how and where was it spent? It is the rakyat’s money, they (Mavcom) must be held accountable.”
Last Thursday, Mavcom said all PSCs will be fully equalised and implemented at every airport in Malaysia.
From Jan 1 next year, the PSC rate for all international destinations from any Malaysian airport will be RM73, up from RM50 at non-Asean international destinations from klia2.
All other PSC rates will remain unchanged.
Tickets issued prior to Jan 1, 2018 are not subject to the new rate, regardless of the date of travel.
Mavcom said this change was due to the results of a 2017 review which took into account industry feedback.
Ajit, who has voiced concern over the PSC hike before, said Mavcom appeared to be turning into a tax body instead of an aviation commission that was meant to protect consumers.
He also asked how the rationalisation was done when Mavcom’s quality of service framework only begins in 2018.
He also slammed reports that the government may impose a new form of security tax known as the Advance Passenger Screening System (APSS), saying there must be more transparency in its implementation.
“Above this, Mavcom will soon start charging RM1 for every departing passenger to finance its operations since the government stopped its funding.
“These taxes are over and above the GST, and users can’t always be made to pay for tax.
“Bear in mind that most of the passengers fly low-cost, and these taxes will have an impact on travellers.”
In August, Ajit had called for detailed information and a breakdown of PSC collection and utilisation, and how users who are unable to take a flight can get a refund.
“Mavcom is proposing to tax users for its financial sustenance, but is unable to disclose its operating cost. How can a commission tax users to finance its operations?” he said then.
Speaking today, he said Malaysia could not afford another situation where it was nearly impossible for passengers to get refunds from an airline that went bust.
He added that Mavcom should emulate entities such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the Energy Commission, the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) and the Securities Commission, which do not depend on consumers for funding.
“They impose fees on operators and manage their operations from those fees. Mavcom should look in that direction instead of getting travellers to fork out money to sustain them,” he said.
He also called on Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai and Prime Minister Najib Razak to suspend the increase in PSC and hold the APSS and departure tax until all issues are clarified.
4PAM wants explanation on move to hike passenger service charge