(NDTV)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday stated that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council discussed the topic of inclusion of petrol and diesel under the tax structure after the Kerala High Court order. “On the direction of court it was brought on to table but members spoke very clearly they do not want it to be included in GST,” Ms Sitharaman said. “This will be reported to the high court as the GST Council felt it was not the time to bring petroleum products under the GST,” she added.
In June, the Kerala High Court, based on a writ petition, had asked the GST Council to decide on bringing petrol and diesel within the GST ambit. The minister also announced that the GST rate on bio-diesel for blending with diesel (used by oil marketing companies) has been reduced from 12% to 5%. The Council also extended concessional GST rates on drugs used in COVID-19 treatment till December 31, the finance minister said.
