Petrol, diesel prices hit new high, Cong bats for GST

Amid unrelenting rise in petrol and diesel prices, the Opposition Congress on Tuesday demanded petrol and diesel be brought under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) immediately.

Petrol prices rose again on Tuesday. In Delhi, where the fuel is selling at the cheapest rate among other metro cities, the price rose by 16 paise to Rs 79.31 per litre. Diesel price too rose by 19 paise in Delhi to sell at Rs 71.34 per litre.

The government has, however, shunned the plan to bring petrol and diesel under GST, for now, stating states are opposed to the move.

“Congress demands that petrol and diesel be brought under GST immediately. Centre blaming the states is a spurious argument. BJP forgets that it is ruling in 19 states. Centre and states must act together and bring petrol and diesel under GST,” senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said this morning.

He said the relentless rise in prices of petrol and diesel is due to excessive taxation on the two fuels. “The relentless rise in prices of petrol and diesel is not inevitable. Because the price is built up by excessive tax on petrol and diesel. If taxes are cut, prices will decline significantly,” he said in a series of tweets.

The prices of petrol and diesel have been rising despite the import bill for crude oil currently being roughly half of what it used to be before 2014. Against an average crude import bill of $168 billion prior to 2014, the government is currently paying only about $86 billion.

On Monday, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy too had flayed the hike in petrol prices saying it was “exploitation “ of common man.