Trade body (CTI) urges govt to bring petrol, diesel under GST to reduce fuel rates

July 9: The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Thursday asked the government to bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST to bring down the fuel rates. It also urged the central government to withdraw the increased excise duty that was introduced last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During corona, between March and May, 2020, when crude oil became cheaper, the central government increased the excise duty on petrol by ₹ 13/litre and diesel by ₹ 16/litre,” a statement from the CTI said. It noted that the dealer price of petrol in Delhi is ₹ 40.62/litre, central excise duty on it is ₹ 32.90/litre, VAT is ₹ 23.13/litre, while dealer commission is ₹ 3.60/litre, that is, the tax being levied on per litre of petrol is ₹ 56.03. Similarly, the dealer price of diesel is ₹ 42.39/litre, excise duty is ₹ 31.80/litre, VAT is ₹ 12.85/litre while dealer commission is ₹ 2.53/litre, making the tax levied on diesel ₹ 44.65/litre.

CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said the traders body had recommended bringing petrol and diesel in the “maximum luxury slab of 28 per cent of GST”, and levy Central GST (CGST) and State (GST) of ₹ 18 per litre each on petrol.

“Due to this, the price of petrol including dealer commission is 80.22, and petrol will be cheaper by about ₹ 20/litre. Similarly, if ₹ 15 worth of CGST and SGST each is levied on diesel, the price of diesel including dealer commission will be ₹ 74.92 and diesel will become cheaper by about ₹ 15/litre,” Goyal said.