Kolkata airport’s duty-free shops will remain closed for now after customs authorities rejected the licence application submitted by the new agency selected to operate them, leaving international passengers without access to the terminal’s duty-free facilities during the festival travel season.
The agency has installed stores in the international section of the airport, but the outlets cannot open without customs clearance, airport officials said. According to airport sources, its application for a special warehouse licence, submitted on August 21, 2026, was rejected a few days ago after an examination of records maintained by the department found adverse entries and past adjudicated customs violations.
A source said the agency had responded to an earlier notice by stating that the cases dated back 17 years, related to incidents in another city and had been settled, with the penalties paid in full. Customs authorities nevertheless rejected the application, the source said. The report did not identify the agency by name or specify whether it plans to challenge the decision.
“The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had awarded the contract to the new agency, but it is now up to customs to grant permission. We hope the stores will become operational soon,” an official of Calcutta airport said.
The airport has been without duty-free stores since July 1 and without a foreign exchange counter for the past year, according to an earlier report. International passengers currently have access only to regular retail outlets. Duty-free stores typically sell products such as liquor, chocolates, perfumes and souvenirs, and passengers travelling abroad have complained about the continuing absence of the facility.
Businessman Dharmendar Mulchandani, a Park Street resident who recently travelled to New York and Dhaka, said he had been unable to buy perfumes, chocolates and wines during his last three trips. He also said that paying in Indian currency at Kolkata’s duty-free stores had been convenient and that the outlets were previously cheaper than those at many other airports.
Airline staff operating international services from Kolkata have received verbal complaints from passengers, sources said. Anil Punjabi, chairman of the eastern region of the Travel Agents Federation of India, said many passengers travelling to Europe and the United States during the festival season were not taking their usual Gulf route, with the absence of duty-free facilities being one factor.
The disruption followed a gap in the transfer of the airport’s duty-free operations. Flemingo Dutyfree Shop Private Limited, which won the contract in 2017 to operate stores in the international departure and arrival areas, saw its contract end on April 21, 2026. The AAI initially extended the contract until July 3 to bridge the transition but declined to grant any further extension. The new agency was subsequently awarded the contract, but its stores have remained closed pending customs approval.
The issue comes as the Centre considers discussions with airlines on possible direct flights from Kolkata to London and other European destinations. Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said earlier this month that the Centre would discuss the possibility after a request from chief minister Suvendu Adhikari. An airline official said duty-free stores were among the factors airlines consider when deciding whether to begin services from an airport. No reopening date has been announced.
