Industry body urges govt to bring petrol products under GST ambit
NEW DELHI: Industry chamber PHDCCI on Sunday urged the government to bring petroleum products in the ambit of goods and services tax (GST) soon, as high inflation in the fuel products is not only stoking overall prices but also increasing the cost of raw materials for manufactured items.
PHDCCI president Sanjay Aggarwal said the wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation has been in a double-digit growth trajectory for the past three months, stoked by high prices of fuel and power.
He added that high commodity prices are posing a serious challenge to the small businesses to operate in the difficult pandemic times.
These are impacting the cost of production and reducing price-cost margin of the producers and affecting their competitiveness in the domestic and international markets, Aggarwal said.
“We urge the government to bring the petroleum products in the ambit of GST, sooner than later.
“High inflation in the fuel products is not only stoking overall inflation but also increasing the cost of raw materials for manufactured products with its cascading impact,”
Last month, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Thursday asked the government to bring petrol and diesel under the ambit of GST to bring down the fuel rates, a day after prices of petrol in Delhi crossed the Rs 100 a litre-mark. It also urged the central government to withdraw the increased excise duty that was introduced last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Crude oil was the cheapest in the last 16 years in 2020-21. During corona, between March and May, 2020, when crude oil became cheaper, the central government increased the excise duty on petrol multiple times,” a statement said.