Bhubaneswar: Members of the Odisha Legislative Assembly Wednesday engaged in a blame game over escalating fuel prices even as finance minister Shashibhusan Behera threw the ball into Centre’s court for the inclusion of petrol and diesel in Goods and Service Tax (GST).
The minister said, “While state finance ministers are members of the GST Council, the Union finance minister is its chairman. The Council can discuss and take a decision on the issue of brining fuel under GST only when he (the Union finance minister) will place the matter before the Council.”
The issue was raised by opposition Congress through an adjournment motion. Initiating the debate, Congress chief whip Taraprasad Bahinipati slammed the Centre over spiraling prices of petrol and diesel while wondering if this is the ‘Acche Din’ Narendra Modi government had promised the people of the country prior to the 2014 general elections.
Referring to the prices of fuel during UPA regime, Bahinipati said when the crude price was at $135 per barrel in the international market in 2010, the prices of petrol and diesel were `38 and `4.33 paise, respectively in India.
“However, when the crude price has come down to around $56 per barrel, the prices of diesel and petrol have been increased to `70 and `73, respectively,” said the Congress chief whip, adding, “The state government is equally responsible for this price hike.” Both Centre and state governments have imposed heavy taxes on fuels, Bahinipati said, adding that the Centre is taking `38 towards central excise duty, while state government is taking `15.33 paise towards VAT.”
“As the BJP claims to have formed government in 22 states, it must place the matter before the GST Council,” he added.
In his address, Leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra wanted to know that why petrol and diesel have been kept out of the GST fold at a time when the Centre is promoting the slogan of ‘one nation one tax.’
“Is it to loot the people,” Mishra asked while urging the members to pass a unanimous resolution in the house to bring fuel under the GST ambit.
BJP members on the other hand targeted the state government. “Neither it has shown interest to include petrol and diesel under GST, nor it has reduced VAT,” said BJP member Pradip Purohit.
The MLA said that if taxes on fuel are subsumed under GST, the prices of petrol and diesel will be reduced by half.
He further wanted to know why the state government instead of blaming the Centre over GST is not reducing VAT. “Odisha’s VAT is more compared to its neighbouring states – Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh. Why it is not reducing the VAT?” Purohit asked while claiming that reduction of VAT on fuel shouldn’t be a major problem for the Odisha government as it had received over `4 lakh crore Central grant in the last four years – an amount which it had not received in the past 10 years of UPA ruling at Centre, he claimed.
BJD deputy chief whip Rohit Pujari said that the state government has already reduced 1 per cent entry tax on fuel prices. The centre must take prompt steps and slash central excise duty on petrol and diesel.
In his reply, the finance minister also said that the prices of fuel will immediately come down if Centre takes steps to bring it into GST ambit or slashes the heavy excise duty it has imposed.
He further clarified that the VAT imposed by the state government is comparatively less as the VAT and taxes on petrol and diesel is 26 per cent `9 cess in Maharashtra, 30 per cent Karnataka, 27 per cent in Delhi, 28 per cent Punjab, 26.8 per cent in UP and 31 per cent in AP among others.
