As many as 77 per cent people want petrol and diesel to be included under the GST structure. This revelation came just ahead of the GST Council meeting on Friday. The council is expected to discuss the matter, following an order of the Kerala High Court that asked the council to decide on bringing petrol and diesel within the GST ambit, based on a writ petition.
According to a survey by LocalCircles, 77 per cent of people who were surveyed said that they want petrol and diesel under the GST structure. Only 11 per cent said ‘no’ and 12 per cent said ‘can’t say’. As many as 7,590 responses were recorded from 379 districts. Out of that, 61 per cent were men and 39 per cent were women. Additionally, 44 per cent were from Tier 1 districts, 29 per cent from Tier 2 and 27 per cent were from Tier 3, 4 and rural districts.
Consumers want fuel under GST as it would reduce household costs. Even with 28 per cent GST, petrol prices would come down to Rs 75, while diesel would decline to Rs 70 per litre, said the report.
Petrol and diesel prices have been rapidly increasing. Petrol is around Rs 100-110 in multiple cities, while diesel is around Rs 90-100 per litre. Rising fuel costs have also impacted essential and other goods costs, leaving the common man who is already struggling financially due to COVID-19 to deal with the blow.
While inclusion of fuel under GST appears to be a good prospect for consumers, state and Central governments would witness a loss of revenue in the short term.
GST subsumed central taxes such as excise duty and state levies such as VAT on July 1, 2017. However, five petroleum products including petrol, diesel, ATF, natural gas and crude oil were not included in the GST regime.
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