(PTI)
Ahead of the Union Budget, the Oil Ministry has made a renewed pitch for inclusion of natural gas in the ambit of GST to promote the use of the environment-friendly fuel by reducing multiplicity of taxes and improving business climate.
When the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced on July 1, 2017, amalgamating 17 central and state levies, five commodities namely crude oil, natural gas, petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) were kept out of its purview given the revenue dependence of state governments on this sector.
“Currently natural gas is taxed under the VAT regime with VAT ranging from 3 per cent to 20 per cent across states,” the ministry said in a booklet it brought out to promote the use of the fuel in automobiles, household kitchens, and industries. If brought under GST, natural gas will attract a uniform rate of tax at the consumption point anywhere in the country after doing away with current rates of excise duty and VAT.
