Bids due in tender that breaks ITDC monopoly

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Legal battle looms as Airports Authority of India bars ITDC from bidding for contracts at 10 of the country's leading airports.

Bids are due on November 17 for new duty-free spaces at 10 of India's leading airports. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has banned India Tourism Development Corp (ITDC) from bidding, alleging non-payment of royalties, a claim hotly disputed by India's monopoly duty-free operator. According to local press reports, ITDC is planning legal action against the authority over the matter.

An ITDC spokesperson said: "They cannot ban us from any future tenders. Our agreement with AAI gives us the right to seek arbitration in case of any unpaid dues before taking such steps. We are seeking legal advice."

ITDC claims that it has been overcharged by AAI because of a miscalculation of the figures due.

If ITDC is still barred when bids close, and another operator is selected for the spaces, it will break ITDC's monopoly on duty-free at India's main international airports. The spaces on offer are at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkota, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Calicut, Goa and Trichy airports.

According to the reports, nine foreign companies have picked up the tender documents including The Nuance Group, Alpha Retail, SUTL Corp, King Power (Hong Kong), DFS Group, Flemingo International and TrueBell Marketing.