To lower fuel prices, Centre mulling to bring petrol & diesel under GST

Feb. 23: People throughout the country are unhappy and worried about hike in prices of essential commodities. The rise in the price of petrol and diesel too is giving shock to the Indians. In some states, petrol is priced at Rs. 100 per litre. Amid an outcry over record high petrol and diesel prices, Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitaraman said that her government is keen to bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of the Goods & Services Tax (GST).

Commenting on the issue, the Finance Minister said that once the petroleum products are brought within the ambit of GST, this will help to reduce oil prices as it will end the cascading impact of taxes. “Petrol & diesel can be brought under the ambit of GST only if the GST Council agrees on one rate, then there will be a uniform price of fuel across the country.

At present, the union government levies a fixed rate of excise duty while states levy different rates of VAT. Under GST, the two would merge and bring uniformity, solving the problem of fuel rates being higher in states with higher VAT.