News Edition 24 Desk: Petrol and diesel prices are skyrocketing. The petroleum minister even said that fuel prices are problematic, but he cannot bring them down. However, now the Goods and Services Tax Council, known as the GST Council, will meet in Lucknow and discuss how they can reduce the price of petrol and diesel. They can bring petrol and diesel under GST which will help in bringing down the price.
According to the report of LiveHindustan, if the proposal is accepted, the new price of petrol will be Rs 75 per liter and that of diesel will be Rs 68 per liter. The proposal will be brought before the Council for discussion and decision on September 17. It was the Kerala High Court that in June issued a direction to consider petrol and diesel under GST.
At present, the price of petrol is Rs 101.19 per liter while the price of diesel is Rs 88.62 per liter. Taxes are the main reason for the increase in fuel prices. The central government implements 32 percent and the state government 23.07 percent. While the central government charges 35 percent on diesel, the state charges more than 14 percent.
It is not that the pandemic has had no effect on crude oil prices. Crude oil prices registered a fall during 2020 and yet, the central government kept increasing the excise duty to boost their revenue. The state government also did the same as their revenue had declined due to the pandemic.
Union minister refuses to cut prices
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that there is no possibility of reducing excise duty on fuel prices. He attributed this to payments made by previous governments in lieu of a reduction in fuel prices. Congress was the last ruling party of our country. According to the Union Minister, Congress did not pay the subsidy due to the reduced retail price in the international market and the fuel price.
She said, “If I had not been burdened with servicing oil bonds, I would have been in a position to reduce the excise duty on fuel. The previous governments have made our job difficult by issuing oil bonds. Still, I can’t do anything.”