AIR BITOLA
For Sellers

Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam 2024: a guide for aircraft owners

The Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam 2024 replaced the Aircraft Act 1934 from 1 January 2025. Existing registrations, licences and rules carry over, while penalties, compounding and appeals now follow the new Act.

Aircraft ownershipBy AIR BITOLA8 min read

The Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 is the law that now governs every aircraft registered in India. It replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934, received the President's assent on 11 December 2024 as Act No. 16 of 2024, and came into force on 1 January 2025, as the Ministry of Civil Aviation records in its annual report for 2025. If you own a business jet, a turboprop, a helicopter or a light trainer, this is the Act under which your registration, your pilots' licences and your maintenance approvals now sit.

The short answer for owners is that very little changed overnight. Section 43 of the Act repealed the 1934 Act but kept alive everything done under it, including rules, certificates, licences and approvals, as long as they are consistent with the new law. What did change is the legal machinery around them: who can make rules, how penalties are fixed, how offences are settled, and how you appeal. This guide walks through those parts in plain language, using the text of the Act published by the Ministry.

This guide explains the published law for general information. It is not legal advice. For a specific transaction or a notice from DGCA, speak to an aviation lawyer.

What the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam covers

The Act describes itself as a law to regulate and control the design, manufacture, maintenance, possession, use, operation, sale, export and import of aircraft. Notice that possession and sale are named. Owning an aircraft, not only flying one, is squarely inside its scope.

Section 1 says who it applies to. That includes citizens of India wherever they are, aircraft registered in India wherever they are, foreign registered aircraft while they are in or over India, and aircraft operated by a non-citizen whose principal place of business or permanent residence is in India. That last group matters for foreign owned companies and individuals who base an aircraft here.

An aircraft is defined broadly as any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from reactions of the air, other than reactions of the air against the earth's surface. Jets, turboprops, helicopters, gliders and balloons all fall within it.

Three bodies carried over from the old Act

The Act carries over three statutory bodies from the old law. Each one constituted under the Aircraft Act, 1934 is deemed to have been constituted under the new Act:

  • The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), under section 3, responsible for safety oversight and regulation. This is the body that registers your aircraft, approves maintenance organisations and licenses pilots and engineers.
  • The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), under section 5, responsible for civil aviation security oversight.
  • The Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB), under section 7, responsible for investigating accidents and incidents.

Section 4 lets the Director General of Civil Aviation issue binding directions on matters such as aerodromes, aircraft operations and maintenance where safety or the security of India requires it. Section 8 places all three bodies under the superintendence of the Central Government, and section 9 lets the Government review an order of DGCA or BCAS under section 4 or section 6 and direct that it be rescinded or modified.

Your registration and approvals carry over

For most owners the key question is whether anything has to be redone. Under section 43, any licence, certificate, approval, permission or exemption granted under the 1934 Act, and any rule, regulation, notification or order made under it, is deemed to have been done under the corresponding provisions of the new Act, so far as it is not inconsistent with it.

In practice this means your certificate of registration, your certificate of airworthiness, your crew licences and the approvals held by your maintenance organisation did not lapse on 1 January 2025. The detailed procedures also carried over. Registration, change of ownership and deregistration still follow DGCA's CAR Section 2, Series F, Part I, and the Aircraft Rules, 1937 remain in use until new rules replace them. Our guides on buying a used aircraft and selling an aircraft cover those steps in detail.

Section 10 is where the rule making power now sits. It lets the Central Government make rules on, among other things, the registration and marking of aircraft, the conditions under which aircraft may be flown, the certificates and documents to be carried on board, the inspection and control of maintenance and the places where aircraft are kept, the licensing of people who operate and maintain aircraft, log books, and the fees for inspections and certificates.

Penalties under the new Act

Chapter VII sets out offences and penalties. A few provisions an owner should know:

  • Section 26: whoever wilfully flies an aircraft so as to cause danger to any person or property on land, water or in the air can be punished with imprisonment of up to two years, a fine of up to one crore rupees, or both.
  • Section 25(1): breaking rules on carrying arms, explosives or other dangerous goods carries up to two years, a fine of up to one crore rupees, or both. The owner is also liable unless the owner proves the offence happened without their knowledge, consent or connivance.
  • Section 25(4): when making other rules, the Government may provide that a breach is punishable with up to two years, a fine of up to one crore rupees, or both.
  • Section 27: wilfully failing to follow a direction of the Director General of Civil Aviation or the Director General of BCAS carries the same maximum.

Section 32 adds a civil route. Rules can provide for a monetary penalty of up to one crore rupees for breaking a rule, imposed by designated adjudicating officers not below the rank of Deputy Secretary to the Government of India. The officer must give you a hearing before imposing a penalty.

Section 19 is the one that can ground an operation. If a person breaks the Act, the rules or directions, the Government or an authorised officer may suspend or cancel a licence, certificate or approval, or put restrictions on it, after giving the person a chance to be heard.

Compounding: settling an offence

Section 30 lets the Director General of Civil Aviation, BCAS or AAIB, as the case may be, compound an offence for an amount of up to one crore rupees, either before or after prosecution starts. Offences punishable with imprisonment only, or with both imprisonment and fine, cannot be compounded. Compounding is also not available to someone who commits a similar offence again within five years of an earlier one that was compounded or led to a conviction.

Once an offence is compounded before prosecution, no prosecution can follow for it. If it is compounded later, the person is discharged and the composition has the effect of an acquittal. Under section 31, a court can take up an offence under the Act only on a complaint by, or with the written sanction of, the relevant Director General, made within one year of the offence coming to their knowledge.

How to appeal an order

Section 33 gives a two step appeal against an order suspending, cancelling or restricting a licence under section 19, or a penalty under section 32:

  • First appeal to the First Appellate Officer, who is next higher in rank to the officer who passed the order.
  • Second appeal to the Second Appellate Officer, next higher in rank again.
  • Where the order was passed by the Director General of Civil Aviation or the Director General of BCAS, the appeal goes to the Central Government, and no further appeal lies against the Government's order.
  • Each appeal must be filed within thirty days of receiving the order. This can be extended, for reasons recorded in writing, by up to thirty more days.

Keep your copy of every order and the date you received it. The thirty day clock runs from receipt.

Other sections worth knowing

  • Section 17: an authorised authority can detain an aircraft if a flight would be dangerous, or to secure compliance with the Act or rules, or to carry out a court order.
  • Section 18: the Government can restrict buildings, structures and trees within up to twenty kilometres of an aerodrome reference point for flight safety. Section 22 provides for compensation where such a direction causes loss.
  • Section 20: the Government can exempt an aircraft, a class of aircraft or a class of persons from any part of the Act or rules by notification.
  • Section 39: no civil suit for trespass or nuisance lies only because an aircraft flew over a property at a height that is reasonable given the wind, weather and other circumstances.
  • Section 36: on conviction for certain offences, including dangerous goods violations, the court may order the aircraft forfeited to the Central Government.

Rules made so far, and what is still pending

The Act is a framework. The day to day detail lives in rules. According to the Ministry's annual report, the Radio Telephone Operator (Restricted) Certificate and Licence Rules, 2025 were notified under the Act on 25 June 2025, moving RTR (Aeronautical) exams and licensing from the Department of Telecommunications to DGCA. The Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2025 followed on 7 November 2025 and now include investigation of remotely piloted aircraft.

The Ministry's rules page, last updated on 27 October 2026, lists more rules from 2026 that touch owners:

  • Aircraft (Carriage of Dangerous Goods) Rules, 2026, dated 17 February 2026. These sit behind the dangerous goods penalties in section 25(1).
  • Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) (First Amendment) Rules, 2026, dated 17 February 2026.
  • Aircraft (Demolition of Obstructions caused by Buildings and Trees etc.) Rules, 2026, dated 31 March 2026, linked to the obstruction powers in section 18.

The big one is still a draft. The Ministry published draft rules, referred to as the Bharatiya Vayuyan Niyam, 2025, in July 2025, as reported in this roundup by Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas. According to Fox Mandal, the draft would repeal the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and provides for registration in Category A or Category B, with Category A expressly covering aircraft wholly owned by entities registered with the International Financial Services Centres Authority.

On 16 October 2026, in a case about airfares, the Solicitor General told the Supreme Court that rules under the Act had been finalised, had administrative approval, and would be published within two weeks, PTI reported. The court listed the matter for 16 November. As of 31 October 2026 the Ministry's rules page did not list the main replacement rules. Until they appear in the Gazette of India, the Aircraft Rules, 1937 and DGCA's CARs remain the working rulebook. When they are published, check the final text at egazette.gov.in rather than relying on summaries of the draft.

The leasing and finance law that sits alongside

A separate law, the Protection of Interests in Aircraft Objects Act, 2025, gives effect to the Cape Town Convention in India. The Ministry says it came into force on 1 May 2025 and names DGCA as the registry authority. Its rules, notified on 30 January 2026, require a debtor operating an aircraft that is subject to an international interest to inform the registry authority within thirty days of registering it under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam. Where the interest already existed when the rules began, the debtor had six months to inform. The rules also require certain dues arising after a default is reported to be settled before an aircraft is exported by the holder of an irrevocable deregistration and export request authorisation (IDERA). If your aircraft is financed or leased from abroad, ask your lender and lawyer how these rules apply to you.

A practical checklist for owners

  • Keep the certificate of registration, airworthiness documents and log books current. They remain valid under section 43, and log books are a subject the Act expressly lets rules govern.
  • Use a DGCA approved maintenance organisation. You can check approvals in the AIR BITOLA directory of MROs, which shows the DGCA file and its date.
  • If your aircraft flies for hire, confirm the operator holds a current permit. See how to check a charter operator is DGCA approved.
  • Read every DGCA direction or show cause notice carefully and note the date of receipt. The Act generally gives a right to be heard before suspension or a penalty, and a thirty day window to appeal.
  • Watch the Gazette for the final rules that replace the Aircraft Rules, 1937, and check whether any registration or document requirement changes for your category.

If you are thinking of buying or selling, browse aircraft on the AIR BITOLA aircraft marketplace or list your aircraft for buyers. For background on what a registration mark says about an aircraft, BookAir explains what a VT registration tells you, and its guide to NSOP charter regulation in India covers the rules for aircraft flown commercially. If you only need the occasional flight rather than ownership, look at private charter and current empty legs.

Common questions

When did the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam 2024 come into force?

The Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024 came into force on 1 January 2025, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It replaced the Aircraft Act, 1934.

Do I need to re-register my aircraft under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam?

No re-registration is required by the Act itself. Section 43 keeps certificates, licences, approvals and rules issued under the Aircraft Act, 1934 in force as if issued under the new Act, so far as they are consistent with it. Registration procedures still follow DGCA's CAR Section 2, Series F, Part I.

Are the Aircraft Rules 1937 still valid?

Yes, for now. The Aircraft Rules, 1937 continue under the savings clause of the new Act until replacement rules are notified. Draft replacement rules were published in July 2025. On 16 October 2026 the Centre told the Supreme Court that rules under the Act would be published within two weeks, but as of 31 October 2026 the Ministry had not listed the replacement rules.

What is the maximum penalty under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam?

For most offences the Act sets a maximum of two years in prison, a fine of up to one crore rupees, or both. Exceptions include depositing rubbish or slaughtering animals within ten kilometres of an aerodrome reference point, which carries up to three years. Rules can also provide civil penalties of up to one crore rupees.

How do I appeal a DGCA penalty or licence suspension?

Under section 33, file a first appeal with the officer next higher in rank within thirty days of receiving the order, then a second appeal if needed. Appeals against orders of the Director General of Civil Aviation go to the Central Government, whose decision is final.

Can an offence under the Act be settled without prosecution?

Yes, in many cases. Section 30 allows compounding for up to one crore rupees before or after prosecution, except for offences punishable with imprisonment only or with both imprisonment and fine, and for repeat offences within five years.

Sources

General information, checked against the sources above on the date published. It is not legal, regulatory or medical advice. Rules change, so confirm with DGCA or the relevant authority before acting.

Read next