Some states don’t want fuel to come under GST: Nitin Gadkari

On Wednesday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari says, Considering the products based on petrol, diesel and other petroleum items within the single national GST regime helps to cut out the taxes which apply to these products and raise the growth of revenue of both the Centre and states.

Nirmala Sitharaman our finance minister is trying her level best to bring down the price, also surely try to bring petrol and diesel under GST it can happen certainly if she gets the sustenance from the state governments, said Gadkari.

In this, some of the states are opposed to bringing petrol and diesel under the GST regime. “If the same happens, petrol and diesel will be brought under the GST regime, then taxes which get applied on the product will be decrease and revenue of both the Centre and the states will raise up,” Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, said.

On September 17, the GST Council are planning to resume keeping diesel and petrol out of the GST purview, as subsuming the recent excise duty and VAT (value-added tax) into one national rate will affect the revenues.

In Lucknow, after the GST Council meeting the Sitharaman, had said the Council discussed the problem only because the Kerala High Court had asked it to do so but felt and at the same time they decided it was the right time to cover petroleum products under GST.

Answering to a question on the Centre’s current conclusion to reduce the tax duty on petrol and diesel by a record Rs 7 to Rs 10 per litre to help out to carried down price down from their highest-ever levels, Gadkari said the government has taken a positive decision to help out and taken a good initiative to furnish a relief to the common man.

Many other BJP-ruled states and Bihar, where the BJP is part of the ruling coalition, also decreased the VAT rates, giving further comfort to buyer.

As per the current status from the last few months, the prices of crude oil have watched view on a global upsurge. So, domestic prices of petrol and diesel had raised their value price in recent weeks, exerting inflationary pressure.

Responding to allegations that the government reduce tax duties on petrol and diesel keeping in mind the results of the 30 assemblies’ conversation and three other Lok Sabha by-elections, it was said by Gadkari, “For us, politics is an instrument of socio-economic reforms. And, we don’t use politics power to win elections.