Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said on Friday that the Centre was positive about State governments suggesting the inclusion of petrol and diesel within the ambit of the Goods and ServicesTax (GST).
Mr. Shukla said he had discussed the matter with Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. He said the Centre could not bring petrol and diesel under the GST unless all States arrived at a consensus.
Mr. Shukla said, “While the Centre will be receptive towards suggestions from States, [fuel] prices cannot be uniform across the country. They will vary from State to State. However, the prices will come down if they are brought under the GST.”
Maharashtra signs up
Mr. Shukla was reacting to a recent statement by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who said fuel prices would normalise once petrol and diesel were included in the GST.
Maharashtra, where petrol and diesel prices have respectively exceeded ₹85 and ₹73 per litre, has already given its consent on the matter. Observing that the country’s monthly GST collection had, for the first time, exceeded ₹1 lakh crore in April, Mr. Shukla said he expected the collections to rise to ₹7 or ₹8 lakh crore next year.
Mr. Shukla said, “The Centre has managed to considerably streamline the operational aspects of the GST within a year. It took the tiny island country of Singapore to do the same in five years.” He said the implementation of the GST was the most successful indirect tax reform since Independence.
