Appeal To GST Council To Bring Petroleum Products Under GST, Says Oil Minister

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has once again appealed to the Goods and Service Tax Council to bring petroleum products under the ambit of the new indirect tax as retail prices rose to record levels.

This will lead to rationalisation of rates of petroleum products, Pradhan said at sidelines on the launch of BSVI grade fuel in Delhi today, adding that India will continue with the market-linked fuel price mechanism.

Price of petrol touched a four-year high today, rising at Rs 73.83 per litre while diesel rates touched an all-time high of Rs 64.69 per litre in the national capital. On Sunday, petrol price in Delhi was at Rs 73.73 per litre while diesel prices were at Rs 64.58 per litre. The surge comes amid rising prices of crude oil in the international market.

In October last year, the government had cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre taking an annual hit of Rs 26,000 crore in tax revenue. The government had asked states to  match it with a cut in VAT. Four state governments and one Union territory had reduced the VAT on petrol and diesel, Pradhan had stated in a written reply in Lok Sabha. The states which reduced VAT following the cut in excise duty were Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.

In contrast, the government had raised excise duty nine times to take away benefits of sliding international oil prices between late 2014 and January 2016.