‘These Are Extraordinary Times’: Nirmala Sitharaman On Petroleum Export Duty Hike
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India will assess the impact of additional export duty on petroleum products every 15 days to see how the situation develops.
“These are extraordinary times. These are times when oil prices internationally are unbridled. For any country like India, which depends largely on imports, we also need to pay that kind of money to get imports,” she said on the sidelines of the fifth GST Day, marking five years of the tax rollout. “At a time, we don't have enough supplies within India, for exploration and refining that's happening in India. We want that kind of activity to be invested in.”
“It's not to discourage exports, not to discourage India as a refining hub,” she said. Supplies, she said, need to be made available to cater to the domestic market.
The government has imposed special additional duties on export of petrol and diesel effective July 1, according to a notification. A special additional excise duty of Rs 6 a litre has been imposed on export of petrol, and Rs 13 a litre on diesel.
RBI Watchful Of Rupee
With the exchange rate reaching new highs, the finance minister said the Reserve Bank of India and the ministry were seized of the matter with periodic updates being given by the central bank governor.
“I am confident on the rupee. The RBI is very keenly watching the exchange rate. We are equally aware that out of rupee vs dollar and other currencies vs the dollar, the rupee has performed relatively better,” Sitharaman said. “Yes, it would have an impact immediately is that imports will become expensive and that is one thing am very watchful and mindful about.”
GST Collection
Sitharaman said the GST collections for May, collected in June, have touched Rs 1,44,616 crore. That's 56% higher than the corresponding period a year ago.
The finance minister urged the Central Board of Excise and Customs to continue to effect complete transparency in its process and remove any discretion in the system.
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