Need to cut taxes on oil in collaborative way: CII head
NEW DELHI: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) president Sanjiv Bajaj on Tuesday made a strong case for reduction in taxes on petrol and diesel and said it should be done in a collaborative manner between the Centre and states to containing rising inflation.
Taxes on petrol and diesel were increased by the government at a time the price of crude oil in the international market was low and this needs to be reversed, he said in an interview to PTI.
“Very clearly one of our prime constituents of inflation is oil. We’ve seen the rise on the ground of oil prices resulting in an increase in petrol prices. We’ve seen the impact on inflation and this needs to be urgently addressed. We know taxation, both by the Centre and the states, is very high. When oil prices fell, at that time rates were increased. Now that oil prices have gone up, we believe that there is a case for this to be discussed ...in a collaborative manner, because eventually we are doing this for one country,” said Bajaj.
The CII president also said the three contentious agri bills that were rolled back earlier “should be reviewed but with proper consultation and then taken forward”.
Asked what impact the rollback of certain reforms in the past related to land acquisition and farm laws has on business sentiment in terms of policy stability especially on foreign investors eyeing India, Bajaj said these were two different issues and one should not do anything retrospectively with respect to foreign investors.
“As far as farm laws and labour laws are concerned we believe that for this country to create its rightful position as a manufacturing hub for the world, we need modern labour laws. This requires the right kind of consultation and discussion with all stakeholders and we would at least support for the government to take this up in earnest, do it once more with the right consultations because we do believe it is important,” he emphasized.
Bajaj said that for the country’s food security, security of farmers, for streamlining the steps from farm to fork, unnecessary intermediaries and their costs should be removed, and the agri bills should be reviewed but with proper consultation and then taken forward.