Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said that the state government is working on various proposals to provide relief from the rising fuel prices. He further mentioned that bringing petroleum products under GST (Goods and Services Tax) is one of the ways of reducing prices.
The state government expects that by bringing the fuel prices within GST ambit the prices will reduce roughly by Rs 5 to 6 per litre.
Fadnavis spoke to a news agency in New Delhi before returning to Mumbai and made it clear that the subject is with the GST Council. He said that if GST council takes a decision to bring it under goods and services tax then Maharashtra Government would support it.
Chief Minister Fadnavis also slammed the opposition for calling 'Bharat Bandh' on Monday over the issue. The Congress has given a call for a nation-wide shut-down on Monday to protest the increasing petroleum prices.
The state government is in favour of bringing petrol and diesel into the Goods and Services Tax regime and it would plead the case for the same during GST council meeting. Finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Tuesday told media persons after the Cabinet meeting that the state government would request the GST council, comprising of finance ministers of all states, to bring fuel within the ambit of the GST.
Mungantiwar pointed out that the state government had reduced the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petrol twice last year and had given a relief of Rs 3,067 crore to the people of Maharashtra. He told that as far as diesel prices were concerned, Maharashtra stands 8th in the country but petrol is costliest in Maharashtra.
According to an official from the finance department, the petrol and diesel prices are likely to reduce by Rs 5 to Rs 6 per litre. There will be input credit to the industries using diesel and to the oil companies for the tax they pay for their services, machinery resulting in a reduction of prices. State government's annual income from the VAT on petrol and diesel is to the tune of Rs 26,000 crore.
