The UK General Aviation Manufacturers and Traders Association (GAMTA) has set up the Flight Training Policy Group (FTPG) to lobby for improvements to Joint Aviation Requirements-Flight Crew Licensing (JAR-FCL), drawing up a list of "top ten" priorities for regulatory change. GAMTA is also lobbying for changes on differing European national rules on value added tax (VAT) for professional flying training fees.
Most of the argument over JAR-FCL is for rationalisation and clarification of the rules. Flying training organisations are finding it difficult to interpret and implement them. GAMTA chief executive Graham Forbes says that among the rules which need rationalisation are: entry requirements to the flight instructors course; definitions of acceptable use of simulators during training; requirements for conversion; and instrument rating validation for foreign and former military pilots.
UK-based schools charge VAT on professional pilot training, whether for UK or foreign students. GAMTA cites BAE Systems' decision to move its main ab-initio pilot training base from Prestwick, Scotland to VAT-free Jerez in Spain as one example of why the government should not maintain its existing tax stance.
Source: Flight International