Bring petroleum products under GST: Punjab finance minister

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Thursday said petroleum products should be brought under the purview of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to maintain an uniformity in price across the country.

Punjab has one of the highest rates of VAT on petrol in the country and it is second to Maharashtra. The price of petrol in Punjab is over Rs 86 a litre, around Rs 7 per litre costlier than that in Chandigarh. The state levies about 36 per cent VAT and surcharges on petrol. "Petroleum sector is a big sector and it is still out of the ambit of GST," Badal told to reporters here.

"The Congress has been saying that petroleum products needed to be brought under the GST so that the price of petrol and diesel remain same throughout the country," he said.

Notably, the Congress had held a nationwide shut-down against rising fuel prices on September 10. The state finance minister also told reporters that a one-day special session of the Punjab Assembly is likely to be convened in the first week of October for passing necessary amendments related to the GST.

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