JOIN USUnder attack on steeply rising petrol and diesel prices, the government is expected to discuss the feasibility of bringing the two fuels under the Goods and Services Tax ambit. The issue may be considered in the council’s next meeting, the date of which is yet to be decided.
“The GST Council will consider bringing petrol and diesel under its ambit in its next meeting,” Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday, a day when rates of petrol neared Rs 78/litre and diesel became all-time high of Rs 68.75 in Delhi.
Goyal said the government used the cash raised through excise duty on fuel rices to fund development projects.
He said the government was currently monitoring oil prices to take a long-term view.
According to industry data, in four years since 2014, the NDA government mopped up Rs 16.57 lakh crore as tax revenue from petroleum product sales, mainly from petrol and diesel.
Tax experts have said that if petrol and diesel are brought under GST, they will be cheaper by Rs 26 per litre. Former finance minister P Chidambaram had said that it was possible for the government to cut petrol prices by at least Rs 25.