Petroleum products should come under GST: Dharmendra Pradhan

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says it is high time that the GST Council should consider bringing the petroleum products in the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax.

Speaking after the meeting heads of state-run oil firms, Mr Pradhan said 42 per cent of excise collections are transferred to state government for infrastructure and welfare programmes and many state governments have also drastically increased VAT.

The Minister also ruled out the government intervention to disrupt the daily revision in petrol and diesel prices, saying the



reform will continue.Terming the criticism of spike in rates as unfair, he said the drop in prices for over a fortnight after the daily price revision was introduced on June 16 has been ignored and only "temporary" phenomenon of rising trend is being highlighted.

India relies on imports to meet 80 per cent of its needs.

State-owned oil companies in June dumped the 15-year old practice of revising rates on 1st and 16th of every month and instead adopted a dynamic daily price revision to instantly reflect changes in cost.