Intention of Centre to levy GST on petrol, diesel; states will have to decide on rate: FM Sitharaman
New Delhi, Jun 22: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the intention of the central government has always been to bring petrol and diesel under GST, and it is now up to the states to come together and decide on the rate.
She said a provision has already been made by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley by including petrol and diesel into GST law. What is remaining is for the states to come together to discuss and decide on the rate of the levy.
"The intention of the GST, as was brought in by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, was to have petrol and diesel in GST. It is up to the states now... to decide on the rate. The intent of my predecessor was very clear, we want petrol and diesel to come into GST," Sitharaman said.
When GST was introduced on July 1, 2017, amalgamating over a dozen central and state levies, five commodities -- crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) -- were included in GST law but it was decided that it would be taxed under GST at a later date.
This meant that the central government continued to levy excise duty on them, while state governments charged VAT. These taxes, with excise duty, in particular, have been raised periodically.
Sitharaman said the intent of the Central Government when GST was implemented was that eventually sometime (later) petrol and diesel can be brought into GST.
"Provision has already been made that it can be brought into GST. One and only decision which is expected is for the states to agree and come to the GST Council and then decide what rate they will agree on.
"Once the states agree in the council, they will have to decide what will be the rate of taxation. Once that decision is taken it will be put in the Act," Sitharaman told reporters after the 53rd GST Council meeting.
Including oil products in GST will not just help companies set off tax that they paid on input but will also bring about uniformity in taxation on fuels in the country.
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KKR land Green for record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore; Shaw, Sarfaraz go unsold
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a record-breaking Rs 25.20 to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green even as Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. This was after Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an intense bidding war for him before the latter emerged winner.
KKR also went after Venkatesh Iyer before pulling out of the race against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fetched the services of the India all-rounder for Rs 7 crore.
As far as Green is concerned, his salary for the season would still be Rs 18 crore (USD 1.9 million) as the rest of the amount will go towards the BCCI's player development programme as per the rules of the auction for foreign players.
Green, who previously turned up for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
Shaw, however, went unsold despite his fine run of form in the domestic circuit lately, and so was the case with Sarfaraz, who smashed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Mumbai on Tuesday.
Big-hitting South African batter David Miller was bought by Delhi Capitals for his base price of Rs 2 crore, but New Zealand swashbuckler Devon Conway, whose base price was also Rs 2 crore, went unsold in the auction.
Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
A total of 359 players -- 246 Indians and 113 overseas players -- are part of the mini auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
