No power tariff hike post GST, says Goyal

Power tariff will not go up in the country post GST, Union Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday.

“I don’t see any possibility of a spike in the power tariff due to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax. There could be one or two paise variation (per unit of electricity),” Goyal told reporters after his meeting with the industry representatives covering power, coal, mines and renewable energy sectors.

Dismissing apprehensions surrounding GST, which is set for a July 1 kick-off, the minister said nobody has sought its deferment in the meeting. In the meeting, issues related to tax on by-products produced from fly-ash and on cables, among others, were discussed.

The provisions regarding the utilisation of fly-ash generated in power plants needed more clarity, Goyal said, adding that he has requested to raise this issue during the next GST Council meeting.

As certain components of the cable industry fall under the 28% slab, the power ministry will request the council to review that particular industry as it has two regimes coming under the 18% and 28% slabs.

Clarity is required to avoid any discrimination by participants in the same sector, he said. The ministry will make an analysis on the basis of tax collection before and after the implementation of GST to find out if the new tax rates are “inordinately” high or not, he said.