State urged to reduce tax on fuel
Madurai: Tamil Nadu foodgrains merchants association limited has written to chief minister M K Stalin to bring fuel under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) ambit.
Quoting Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who in a meeting in Chennai on Sunday said that petrol and diesel would be brought under GST if the government of Tamil Nadu agreed, president of the association, S P Jeyapragasam said: “So, the Tamil Nadu government should urge the Central government to bring petrol and diesel under the GST regime. It will reduce the cost of transportation and enable the general public to buy essential food items at a lesser cost. A lot of essential food products and agricultural produce for Tamil Nadu are transported from other states.”
The association pointed out that most states like Karnataka and Puduchery reduced the state government’s VAT for petrol, diesel and cooking gas, making the prices much less than the price at which it is sold in Tamil Nadu. This is attracting industries and factories in Tamil Nadu that are close to the border and they are buying fuel from those fuel stations in the neighbouring states.TNN
