Building consensus among states over bringing petrol under GST: Pradhan

Indore: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday said efforts are on to build a consensus with the state governments over bringing in petroleum products under the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

His statement has come at a time when the demand for levying GST on petroleum products has gathered steam in different states due to its high price in many places.

The central government through talks with the states is interested in building consensus on the GST levy on petroleum products, Pradhan, who holds charge of petroleum ministry, told reporters on the sidelines of a function near here.

"The GST Council led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after consultations with the states would take a call on the issue," he added.

"As Petroleum Minister, I have requested the state governments often that the levy of the GST on petroleum products will do good to the people," Pradhan added.

"We are trying to build the consensus with the state governments on this issue democratically. We don't want to thrust upon the states our decisions," the minister added.

With the new tax regime not in place in many states, people are shelling out more money for the petroleum products in such areas due to the levy of Value Added Tax (VAT) and other cess.

Besides, there is a wide disparity in the price of petroleum products due to different taxes in the states.